Vehicle door window glass support structure

ABSTRACT

A vehicle door window glass support structure includes: a sash part protruding upward with respect to the door panel; and window glass that is elevated or lowered along the sash part, in which the sash part includes a glass position regulating means that determines the position of the window glass in both vehicle interior and exterior directions and an intersecting direction that intersects the vehicle interior and exterior directions at least at a position where the window glass is elevated most. This configuration makes it possible to improve the position accuracy of the window glass with respect to the sash part, enhancing the appearance quality and the support performance of the window glass.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle door window glass supportstructure.

BACKGROUND ART

In a vehicle door having window glass that is elevated or lowered withrespect to a door panel, a glass elevating/lowering device (windowregulator) performs elavating/lowering operation of the window glasswhile determining the position of the window glass. Specifically, in thecase of a side door of a vehicle, the glass elevating/lowering devicesupports the window glass so as to regulate the position in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions and the front-rear direction whilemovably operating the window glass in the elevating/lowering (vertical)directions.

For example, in the glass elevating/lowering device of Patent Literature1, a guide rail extending in the elevating/lowering directions isattached to an inner panel of a door, and the glass elevating/loweringdevice performs elevating/lowering operation while sliding a slider thatsupports the window glass with respect to the guide rail. The slidermovement is regulated in the vehicle interior and exterior directionsand in the front-rear directions with respect to the guide rail, therebystabling supporting the window glass. Various types of glasselevating/lowering devices have been proposed in addition to this, suchas those that use a rotating arm to support the window glass, and it isnecessary, in all of these, to stabilize the window glass in a directionother than the elevating/lowering directions.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open PublicationNo. 2015-21318

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Since the window glass in the fully closed state is held in a state inwhich its peripheral edge is sealed along a sash part of the door andthe vehicle body, it is particularly necessary to ensure positionaccuracy for a portion (sash part or the like) located along theperipheral edge of the window glass in the fully closed state. In aglass elevating/lowering device as disclosed in Patent Literature 1, aguide rail serving as a position reference of the window glass isattached to an inner panel of the door. In other words, the locationwhere the window glass position is regulated (the guide rail) isseparated from the location where the position accuracy with respect tothe window glass is required (the sash part). This leads to a problemthat a highly strict accuracy control is required in consideration of anerror in assembling the guide rail to the inner panel, an accuracy errorbetween the inner panel and the sash part, or the like.

In recent years, there have been diversified door designs including aconfiguration with increasing popularity in which the outer surface ofthe sash part of the door is substantially flush with the window glass.This type of door is required to achieve higher position accuracy forthe window glass with respect to the sash part, and thus needs toperform more facilitated and reliable position control between thewindow glass and the sash part.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above awarenessof the problems, and aims to provide a vehicle door window glass supportstructure capable of achieving excellent position accuracy in the windowglass with respect to the sash part.

Solution to Problem

A vehicle door window glass support structure of the present inventionincludes: a sash part protruding upward with respect to the door panel;and window glass that is elevated or lowered along the sash part, inwhich the sash part includes a glass position regulating means thatdetermines the position of the window glass in both vehicle interior andexterior directions and an intersecting direction that intersects thevehicle interior and exterior directions at least at a position wherethe window glass is elevated most.

As an example, the glass position regulating means includes a guidesection that is provided in the sash part and is surrounded by a pair ofwalls arranged opposite the vehicle interior and exterior directions anda pair of walls arrange opposite the intersecting direction so as to becontinuous to a longitudinal direction of the sash part. There isprovided a slider that is secured to the window glass and slidablyinserted into the guide section of the guide rail, and the position ofthe window glass is determined by the slider and walls of the guidesection.

It is preferable to have a configuration in which the sash part includesa guide rail that is open toward the vehicle exterior side and extendsin the longitudinal direction of the sash part and that internallyincludes a guide section, and the window glass is positioned on thevehicle exterior side of the guide rail. In this case, the sliderincludes: a glass securing part secured to a vehicle interior sidesurface of the window glass arranged opposite an open portion of theguide rail; and a sliding part located at vehicle interior side withrespect to the glass securing part so as to be slidably disposed in theguide section.

It is preferable that the sliding part of the slider includes: a slidingbase having a solid structure that brings an outer surface into contactwith walls forming the guide section; a first elastic contact partprovided at different position in the longitudinal direction of the sashpart with respect to the sliding base and elastically deformably comingin contact with at least one of a pair of the walls arranged oppositethe intersecting direction out of the guide section; and a secondelastic contact part provided at different position in the longitudinaldirection of the upright pillar sash with respect to the sliding baseand elastically deformably coming in contact with at least one of a pairof the walls arranged opposite the vehicle interior and exteriordirections out of the guide section.

It is possible to have a configuration in which a door sash surroundinga window opening opened and closed by the window glass is provided abovethe door panel, and the sash part to which the present invention isapplied is an upright pillar sash extending downward from an end of anupper sash located at an upper edge of the door sash. In this case, theintersecting direction that intersects the vehicle interior and exteriordirections are inner and outer peripheral directions of the door sashthat defines the window opening as an inner peripheral side.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, the glass position regulating meansprovided in the sash part determines the window glass position in thevehicle interior and exterior directions and in the intersectingdirection intersecting the vehicle interior and exterior directions.This makes it possible to enhance the relative position accuracy betweenthe window glass and the sash part with facilitated accuracy control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a vehicle door when viewed from a vehicle exteriorside.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an upper sash along line II-II inFIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a view of a disassembled upright pillar sash when viewed fromthe vehicle exterior side.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the disassembled upright pillar sash.

FIG. 5 is a view of a door corner part of a door sash viewed from thevehicle interior side.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connecting member constituting thedoor corner part when viewed from the vehicle exterior side.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the connecting member.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a window regulator.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an upright pillar sash at a positionalong line IX-IX in FIG. 23 .

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of FIG. 9 .

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 10 , illustrating astate in which an elastic cover is elastically deformed.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which theelastic cover is being assembled to the upright pillar sash.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which agarnish constituting the upright pillar sash is being molded.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the upright pillar sash at aposition along line XIV-XIV in FIG. 22 .

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the upright pillar sash at aposition along line XV-XV in FIG. 24 .

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the upright pillar sash at aposition along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 23 .

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the upright pillar sash at aposition along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 23 .

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the upright pillar sash at aposition along line XVIII-XVIII in FIG. 23 .

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a window regulator assembly.

FIG. 20 is a side view illustrating a positional relationship betweenwindow glass and a slider.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of two sliders.

FIG. 22 is a partial see-through rear view of the window regulator.

FIG. 23 is a partially see-through rear view of the window regulator ina fully closed state of window glass.

FIG. 24 is a partially see-through rear view of the window regulator ina fully open state of window glass.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a contact relationshipbetween a shoe base of the slider and a lip part of the elastic cover.

FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view of a window regulator accordingto a second embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the window regulator according tothe second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the drawings. A door 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a sidedoor attached to a side of a right front seat of a vehicle body (notillustrated), and the vehicle body has a door opening (not illustrated)opened and closed by the door 10. The door 10 includes a door panel 10 a(virtually illustrated with a one-dot chain line) and a door sash 10 b.There is provided a window opening 10 c surrounded by the upper edge ofthe door panel 10 a and the door sash 10 b.

In the following description, the vehicle interior side and the vehicleexterior side correspond to the inside and outside of the vehicle bodyin a state where the door 10 is closed, and a direction connecting thevehicle interior side and the vehicle exterior side (a thicknessdirection of the door 10) will be referred to as vehicle interior andexterior directions. On the door sash 10 b, the side facing the windowopening 10 c is defined as an inner peripheral side, the opposite sideof the window opening 10 c (the side facing an inner edge of a bodyopening in a state where the door 10 is closed) is defined as an outerperipheral side, and a direction connecting the inner peripheral sideand the outer peripheral side is referred to as inner and outerperipheral directions.

Although not illustrated, the door panel 10 a is a combination of aninner panel located on the vehicle interior side and an outer panellocated on the vehicle exterior side. A door panel inner space (notillustrated) is formed between the inner panel and the outer panel, andan upper edge of the door panel inner space opens toward the windowopening 10 c.

The door sash 10 b includes an upper sash 11 located at an upper edge ofthe door 10, an upright pillar sash 12 and a front sash 13 extendingsubstantially vertically from the upper sash 11 toward the door panel 10a. The upright pillar sash 12 is located at the rearmost portion of thedoor sash 10 b, and the upper corner at the rear of the door 10 is adoor corner part 10 d where the rear end of the upper sash 11 and theupper end of the upright pillar sash 12 meet. The upright pillar sash 12and the front sash 13 extend substantially in parallel. The uprightpillar sash 12 forms a rear edge of the window opening 10 c while thefront sash 13 forms a front edge of the window opening 10 c. Further,the upper sash 11 forms the upper edge of the window opening 10 c.

The upright pillar sash 12 extends downward (diagonally downward) fromthe door corner part 10 d and is inserted into the door panel innerspace. The upper sash 11 extends forward from the door corner part 10 dand curves downward in the middle of running forward. The front end ofthe upper sash 11 is inserted into the door panel inner space of thedoor panel 10 a. The front sash 13 extends downward (diagonallydownward) from an intermediate position of the upper sash 11 so as to beinserted into the door panel inner space. The upper sash 11, the uprightpillar sash 12, and the front sash 13 are each secured to the door panel10 a inside the door panel inner space.

In the door panel inner space, a mirror bracket 14 is provided at afront portion, and a lock bracket 15 is provided at a rear portion. Themirror bracket 14 and the lock bracket 15 are each secured to the doorpanel 10 a, the front sash 13 is secured to the mirror bracket 14, andthe upright pillar sash 12 is secured to the lock bracket 15. A part ofthe mirror bracket 14 has a shape that protrudes upward from the doorpanel 10 a and fits in a triangular space between the upper sash 11 andthe front sash 13. A door mirror (not illustrated) or the like isattached to the protruded portion on the mirror bracket 14. A door lockmechanism (not illustrated) or the like is attached to the lock bracket15.

A belt line reinforcement 16 extending in front-rear directions isarranged near the upper edge of the door panel inner space. The beltline reinforcement 16 includes at least an outer reinforcement locatedon the vehicle exterior side. The front part of the outer reinforcementis secured to the mirror bracket 14 and the rear part thereof is securedto the lock bracket 15. The belt line reinforcement 16 may include aninner reinforcement located on the vehicle interior side in addition tothe outer reinforcement.

There is provided window glass W to be elevated and lowered along theupright pillar sash 12 and the front sash 13 to open and close thewindow opening 10 c. The window glass W is a plate-shaped glass memberhaving a vehicle exterior side surface W1 facing the vehicle exteriorside, a vehicle interior side surface W2 facing the vehicle interiorside, and an edge surface W3 facing the outer peripheral side (refer toFIG. 19 ). The window glass W is elevated and lowered between a fullyclosed position (a position shown in FIG. 1 and a position shown in FIG.20 by solid line) and a fully open position (a position shown in FIG. 20by two-dot chain line) by a window regulator 40 described below. Theupper edge of the window glass W reaches the upper sash 11 at the fullyclosed position. The window glass W lowered from the fully closedposition to the fully open position is housed in the door panel innerspace.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the upper sash 11 includes a combination of asash body 20 located on the vehicle interior side and a sash molding 21located on the vehicle exterior side.

The sash body 20 is a thick metal long member that makes the upper sash11 a rigid body. The sash body 20 includes: a frame part 20 a having ahollow cross-sectional shape located on the vehicle interior side; and aplate part 20 b protruding from the frame part 20 a toward the vehicleexterior side. The frame part 20 a includes a vehicle interior side wall20 c located on the vehicle interior side; an inner peripheral side wall20 d extending from an inner peripheral side end of the vehicle interiorside wall 20 c toward the vehicle exterior side; an outer peripheralside wall 20 e extending from an outer peripheral side end of thevehicle interior side wall 20 c toward the vehicle exterior side; and avehicle exterior side wall 20 f that connects vehicle exterior side endsof the inner peripheral side wall 20 d and the outer peripheral sidewall 20 e. The plate part 20 b protrudes from the vicinity of theboundary between the outer peripheral side wall 20 e and the vehicleexterior side wall 20 f toward the vehicle exterior side.

The sash molding 21 is a metal long member thinner than the sash body 20and includes: a support 21 a overlapping the outer peripheral side ofthe plate part 20 b; and a design part 21 b located on the vehicleexterior side of the support 21 a. The plate part 20 b and the support21 a are secured by rivets or the like. That is, the upper sash 11 has aconfiguration in which the frame part 20 a located on the vehicleinterior side and the design part 21 b located on the vehicle exteriorside are connected with each other by a connecting part including theplate part 20 b and the support 21 a.

The upper sash 11 includes a glass run storage 22 formed as a recesssurrounded by the vehicle exterior side wall 20 f of the frame part 20a, the plate part 20 b, and the support 21 a. The glass run storage 22is open toward the inner peripheral side and houses a glass run 23formed of an elastic body. The glass run storage 22 is provided with anuneven shape for preventing the glass run 23 from falling off to theinner peripheral side. The glass run 23 has a recessed cross-sectionalshape along the inner surface of the glass run storage 22 and includeson its inner side a plurality of elastically deformable lip parts.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the upper edge of the window glass W entersthe glass run storage 22 at the fully closed position of the windowglass W. The window glass W that has entered the glass run storage 22presses the lip part of the glass run 23 to be elastically deformed.This allows the lip part of the glass run 23 to come into close contactwith each of a vehicle exterior side surface W1, a vehicle interior sidesurface W2, and an edge surface W3 of the window glass W, forming awater-tight state that prevents entry of raindrops or the like to thevehicle interior side, as well as elastically holding the upper edge ofthe window glass W by the glass run 23.

The upper sash 11 is further equipped with a weather-strip holder 24 onthe outer peripheral side opposite to the glass run storage 22. Theweather-strip holder 24 is a recess including the support 21 a and bentportions formed on the vehicle interior and vehicle exterior sides ofthe support 21 a toward the outer peripheral side. The weather-stripholder 24 is open toward the outer peripheral side and fittingly holds aleg of a weather-strip (not illustrated) formed of an elastic body. Theweather-strip includes an elastic contact part protruding from theweather-strip holder 24 to the outer peripheral side. When the door 10is closed, the elastic contact part of the weather-strip comes intocontact with an inner edge of the door opening of a vehicle body and iselastically deformed. As will be described below, the weather-strip isalso continuous to the part along the upright pillar sash 12.Accordingly, the space between the entire door sash 10 b and the dooropening comes into a water-tight sealed state by the weather-strip in astate where the door 10 is closed.

The upper sash 11 maintains the above-described general cross-sectionalshape from the rear end position on the door corner part 10 d side to aposition connected to the upper end of the front sash 13 (referred to asa front corner part). Although not illustrated, the sash molding 21 isnot provided in the portion of the upper sash 11 that is more frontwardof the front corner part, with omission of the glass run storage 22. Thefront sash 13 is provided with a glass run storage (not illustrated)having a recessed cross-sectional shape that is continuous with theglass run storage 22 of the upper sash 11, and the glass run 23 is heldinside the glass run storage of the front sash 13 so as to be disposeddownward from the front corner part.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the upright pillar sash 12 has aconfiguration combining an inner sash 30 and a guide rail 31, each ofwhich is a metal long member. Note that the inner sash 30 and the guiderail 31 can also be formed of a nonmetallic material such as a syntheticresin. As illustrated in FIG. 9 , a garnish 32 and an elastic cover 33are attached to the vehicle exterior side of the inner sash 30 and theguide rail 31.

The inner sash 30 includes: a frame part 30 a located on the vehicleinterior side; a design part 30 b located on the vehicle exterior side;and a step part 30 c connecting the frame part 30 a and the design part30 b. The frame part 30 a is a part corresponding to the frame part 20 ain the upper sash 11. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , theframe part 30 a includes: a vehicle interior side wall 30 d located onthe vehicle interior side; an inner peripheral side wall 30 e extendingfrom an inner peripheral side end of the vehicle interior side wall 30 dtoward the vehicle exterior side; and an outer peripheral side wall 30 fextending from an outer peripheral side end of the vehicle interior sidewall 30 d to the vehicle exterior side. The outer peripheral side wall30 f extends substantially straight in the vehicle interior and exteriordirections. The inner peripheral side wall 30 e includes an inclinedregion increasing distance with respect to the outer peripheral sidewall 30 f (having a larger amount of protrusion toward the innerperipheral side) as being farther from the vehicle interior side wall 30d, while the vehicle exterior side of the inclined region is defined asa parallel region being substantially parallel with the inner peripheralside wall 30 e.

Unlike the sash body 20 of the upper sash 11 in which the frame part 20a has a closed cross-sectional shape, the inner sash 30 of the uprightpillar sash 12 has a bursiform cross-section that is open toward thevehicle exterior side without connecting the vehicle exterior side endof the inner peripheral side wall 30 e and the vehicle exterior side endof the outer peripheral side wall 30 f in the frame part 30 a.

The step part 30 c of the inner sash 30 includes: an outer peripheralextension 30 g extending from the vehicle exterior side end of the outerperipheral side wall 30 f toward the outer peripheral side; and avehicle exterior extension 30 h extending from the outer peripheral sideend of the outer peripheral extension 30 g toward the vehicle exteriorside. The design part 30 b extends from the vehicle exterior side end ofthe vehicle exterior extension 30 h toward the outer peripheral side.

The guide rail 31 has a recessed cross-sectional shape that opens towardthe vehicle exterior side and is disposed so as to fit inside the openportion of the inner sash 30 on the vehicle exterior side of the framepart 30 a having a bursiform cross-sectional shape. More specifically,the guide rail 31 includes a vehicle interior side wall 31 a located onthe vehicle interior side; an inner peripheral side wall 31 b extendingfrom an inner peripheral side end of the vehicle interior side wall 31 atoward the vehicle exterior side; and an outer peripheral side wall 31 cextending from an outer peripheral side end of the vehicle interior sidewall 31 a to the vehicle exterior side. A bent part 31 d and a coverwall 31 e protruding toward the inner peripheral side are provided atthe vehicle exterior side end of the inner peripheral side wall 31 b andthe vehicle exterior side end of the outer peripheral side wall 31 c,respectively. The guide rail 31 further includes: a partition wall 31 fprotruding to the vehicle exterior side from an intermediate position ofthe vehicle interior side wall 31 a in the inner and outer peripheraldirections; and a holding wall 31 g protruding to the inner peripheralside from the vehicle exterior side end of the partition wall 31 f.

The three walls (the inner peripheral side wall 31 b, the outerperipheral side wall 31 c, and the partition wall 31 f) and the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a connecting these three walls form a firstsection S1 and a second section S2 mutually adjacent in the inner andouter peripheral directions within the guide rail 31. The holding wall31 g partially closes the vehicle exterior side of the first section S1while forming a gap with the inner peripheral side wall 31 b. The coverwall 31 e partially closes the vehicle exterior side of the secondsection S2 while forming a gap with the partition wall 31 f.

The partition wall 31 f is provided at a position closer to the innerperipheral side wall 31 b than to the outer peripheral side wall 31 c,so that the second section S2 is larger than the first section S1 in theinner and outer peripheral directions. The amount of protrusion to thevehicle exterior side with respect to the vehicle interior side wall 31a is the largest on the outer peripheral side wall 31 c, the nextlargest on the inner peripheral side wall 31 b, and the smallest on thepartition wall 31 f. Therefore, the second section S2 is wider in boththe inner and outer peripheral directions and the vehicle interior andexterior directions than the first section S1. Furthermore, the coverwall 31 e forming the vehicle exterior side surface of the secondsection S2 is longer in the inner and outer peripheral directions thanthe holding wall 31 g forming the vehicle exterior side surface of thefirst section S1.

In a state where the guide rail 31 is combined with the inner sash 30,the guide rail 31 closes the opening on the vehicle exterior side of theframe part 30 a. The end of the inner peripheral side wall 30 e comes incontact with the bent part 31 d, determining the relative positions ofthe inner sash 30 and the guide rail 31 in the vehicle interior andexterior directions (refer to FIG. 14 ). The inner peripheral side wall31 b and the outer peripheral side wall 31 c are respectively in contactwith the inner peripheral side wall 30 e and the outer peripheral sidewall 30 f from the inside of the frame part 30 a, and this contactachieves integration of the inner sash 30 and the guide rail 31 in theinner and outer peripheral directions. The vehicle interior side wall 31a of the guide rail 31 connects the inner peripheral side wall 30 e andthe outer peripheral side wall 30 f of the inner sash 30 in the innerand outer peripheral directions. This leads to formation of a thirdsection S3 surrounded by the vehicle interior side wall 30 d, the innerperipheral side wall 30 e, the outer peripheral side wall 30 f, and thevehicle interior side wall 31 a. The third section S3 is locatedadjacent to the first section S1 and the second section S2 on thevehicle interior side, being separated from the first section S1 and thesecond section S2 by the vehicle interior side wall 31 a.

In a state where the inner sash 30 and the guide rail 31 are combined,the outer peripheral side wall 31 c of the guide rail 31 protrudestoward the vehicle exterior side from the outer peripheral extension 30g of the inner sash 30 so as to form a positioning part 31 c 1 locatedon the inner peripheral side of the step part 30 c (refer to FIGS. 9 to11 ). This leads to formation of a holding recess U1 that is open to thevehicle exterior side and having the outer peripheral extension 30 g asa bottom with the vehicle exterior extension 30 h and the positioningpart 32 c 1 of the step part 30 c as both side walls, on the outside(vehicle exterior side and outer peripheral side) of the frame part 30 a(refer to FIGS. 9 to 11 ).

The cover wall 31 e formed continuously with the outer peripheral sidewall 31 c on the guide rail 31 faces the window glass W so as to beseparated on the vehicle interior side. The cover wall 31 e is locatedon the vehicle exterior side with respect to the outer peripheralextension 30 g, forming a gap U2 communicating with the holding recessU1 between the vehicle interior side surface W2 of the window glass Wand the cover wall 31 e (FIGS. 9 to 11 ).

The garnish 32 is a long member that extends in the longitudinaldirection of the upright pillar sash 12 so as to cover the vehicleexterior side of the design part 30 b. The garnish 32 includes: avehicle exterior side surface 32 a facing the vehicle exterior side; anda vehicle interior side surface 32 b facing the vehicle interior sideand that is arranged opposite the design part 30 b. In the inner andouter peripheral directions, the garnish 32 has a width that covers theentire design part 30 b. The inner peripheral side edge and the outerperipheral side edge of the garnish 32 are respectively provided with aninner peripheral edge 32 c and an outer peripheral edge 32 d curved(bent) toward the vehicle interior side and protruding toward thevehicle interior side with respect to the vehicle interior side surface32 b.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 , the innerperipheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32 includes an inner peripheral sidesurface 32 e facing the inner peripheral side, an outer peripheral sidesurface 32 f facing the outer peripheral side, and an end surface 32 gfacing the vehicle interior side. The inner peripheral side surface 32 eis a surface that is continuous with the vehicle exterior side surface32 a, having an inclined shape protruding toward the inner peripheralside while proceeding toward the vehicle interior side, as well ashaving a curved shape protruding toward the inner peripheral side(especially, a predetermined region from a portion connected to thevehicle exterior side surface 32 a is provided as a protruding curvedsurface). The outer peripheral side surface 32 f is a surface that iscontinuous with the vehicle interior side surface 32 b, having aninclined shape protruding toward the inner peripheral side whileproceeding toward the vehicle interior side, as well as having a curvedshape recessed toward the inner peripheral side (especially, apredetermined region from a portion connected to the vehicle interiorside surface 32 b is provided as a recessed curved surface). The endsurface 32 g connects a vehicle interior side end of each of the innerperipheral side surface 32 e and the outer peripheral side surface 32 f,having a planar shape facing the vehicle interior side.

The boundary portion on the inner sash 30 between the design part 30 band the vehicle exterior extension 30 h has a curved shape, and thecurved shape of the inner peripheral side surface 32 e and the outerperipheral side surface 32 f on the inner peripheral edge 32 c followsthe curved shape of the inner sash 30. Additionally, a part of the tipside of the inner peripheral edge 32 c including the end surface 32 g islocated on the inner peripheral side of the vehicle exterior extension30 h so as to enter the inside of the holding recess U1. The vehicleexterior side surface 32 a of the garnish 32 is located at substantiallythe same position as the vehicle exterior side surface W1 of the windowglass Win the vehicle interior and exterior directions, while the endsurface 32 g is located at a position close to the vehicle interior sidesurface W2 of the window glass W in the vehicle interior and exteriordirections.

The garnish 32, being a molded product formed of a material such as asynthetic resin, is molded using a molding die illustrated in FIG. 13 .This molding die includes an upper die 80 and a lower die 81 relativelymovable in the front and back directions of the garnish 32(corresponding to the vehicle interior and exterior directions when thegarnish 32 is assembled to the upright pillar sash 12) when the vehicleexterior side surface 32 a and the vehicle interior side surface 32 bare respectively defined as front and back.

The upper die 80 includes: a planar first formation region 80 a to formthe vehicle exterior side surface 32 a of the garnish 32; and a secondformation region 80 b to form a part of the inner peripheral sidesurface 32 e while extending in a curved recessed shape following thefirst formation region 80 a. The lower die 81 includes: a planar firstformation region 81 a to form the vehicle interior side surface 32 b ofthe garnish 32; a second surface formation region 81 b to form the outerperipheral side surface 32 f while extending in a curved protrudingshape following the first formation region 81 a; a third formationregion 81 c that is continuous from the second surface formation region81 b to form the end surface 32 g; and a fourth formation region 81 dthat is continuous from the third formation region 81 c to form a partof the inner peripheral side surface 32 e. The upper die 80 includes amating surface 80 c following the second formation region 80 b while thelower die 81 includes a mating surface 81 e following the fourthformation region 81 d. The mating surface 80 c and the mating surface 81e are planar surfaces that face each other in contact and approachdirections of the upper die 80 and the lower die 81.

As illustrated in FIG. 13 , the second formation region 80 b and thefourth formation region 81 d are aligned so as to be continuous witheach other, the upper die 80 and the lower die 81 are brought closer toeach other until the mating surface 80 c and the mating surface 81 ecome into contact with each other. Then the garnish 32 is formed by theinner surfaces of the upper die 80 and the lower die 81 (each offormation regions 80 a, 80 b, 81 a, 81 b, 81 c, and 81 d). Although notillustrated, inner surfaces of the upper die 80 and the lower die 81also include a region for forming the outer peripheral edge 32 d,meaning not only the inner peripheral edge 32 c but also the outerperipheral edge 32 d are formed by the upper die 80 and the lower die81.

When the upper die 80 and the lower die 81 are separated from each otherin the front and back directions of the garnish 32 after molding, aparting line L1 (refer to FIG. 13 ) will be formed in the innerperipheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32 at a position corresponding tothe boundary between the mating surface 80 c and the mating surface 81e. The parting line L1 is located on the vehicle interior side of anintersection K1 (refer to FIG. 13 ) at which a virtual line (virtualplane) extending from the vehicle interior side surface 32 b of thegarnish 32 intersects the inner peripheral side surface 32 e.

The garnish 32 can be formed of metal (for example, a steel plate rolledproduct, an aluminum alloy die-cast product) other than the syntheticresin.

The elastic cover 33, a long member formed of an elastic body, extendsin the longitudinal direction of the upright pillar sash 12 so as to beadjacent to the inner peripheral side of the garnish 32. The elasticcover 33 includes: a hollow part 33 a having a hollow cross-sectionalshape; and a cantilevered lip part 33 b protruding toward the innerperipheral side from the hollow part 33 a.

FIG. 10 illustrates the shape of the elastic cover 33 in an initialstate (free state) under no pressure of the window glass W or thegarnish 32. Each parts of the elastic cover 33 in the initial state havethe following shapes and structures.

The hollow part 33 a of the elastic cover 33 has an internal spacehaving a closed cross-sectional structure surrounded by a vehicleexterior side wall 33 c, an inner peripheral side wall 33 d, an outerperipheral side wall 33 e, an outer peripheral protruding wall 33 f, avehicle interior side wall 33 g, an inner peripheral side base wall 33h, and an outer peripheral side base wall 33 i.

The vehicle exterior side wall 33 c, located on the vehicle exteriorside, has a positional relationship to be located side by side with thevehicle exterior side surface W1 of the window glass W and the vehicleexterior side surface 32 a of the garnish 32 in the inner and outerperipheral directions. The inner peripheral side wall 33 d extends fromthe inner peripheral side end of the vehicle exterior side wall 33 c tothe lip part 33 b, so as to be located at a position facing the edgesurface W3 of the window glass W in the inner and outer peripheraldirections. The outer peripheral side wall 33 e and the outer peripheralprotruding wall 33 f form an L shape along the inner peripheral edge 32c of the garnish 32, in which the outer peripheral side wall 33 e facesthe inner peripheral side surface 32 e while the outer peripheralprotruding wall 33 f faces the end surface 32 g.

The vehicle interior side wall 33 g comes in contact with the outerperipheral extension 30 g of the inner sash 30. The position of theelastic cover 33 (the hollow part 33 a in particular) in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions is determined by the contact of thevehicle interior side wall 33 g with the outer peripheral extension 30g. The vehicle interior side wall 33 g also comes in contact with thebent part 35 h of the connecting member 35 (refer to FIGS. 16 to 18 ) atthe door corner part 10 d where the connecting member 35 is provided.

The inner peripheral side base wall 33 h is formed at a corner betweenthe inner peripheral side end of the vehicle interior side wall 33 g andthe lip part 33 b, and comes into contact with the positioning part 31 c1 of the guide rail 31. The outer peripheral side base wall 33 iconnects the outer peripheral side end of each of the outer peripheralprotruding wall 33 f and the vehicle interior side wall 33 g and has aninclined shape protruding toward the outer peripheral side whileproceeding from the vehicle interior side (the vehicle interior sidewall 33 g) to the vehicle exterior side (the outer peripheral protrudingwall 33 f). The shape and size of the hollow part 33 a in the initialstate are set such that the outer peripheral side base wall 33 i isseparated from the step part 30 c (a triangular space is formed betweenthe outer peripheral side base wall 33 i, the outer peripheral extension30 g, and the vehicle exterior extension 30 h) in a state where theinner peripheral side base wall 33 h is in contact with the positioningpart 31 c 1 (refer to FIG. 10 ). That is, the position of the elasticcover 33 in the inner and outer peripheral directions is determined bythe contact of the inner peripheral side base wall 33 h with thepositioning part 31 c 1.

In the hollow part 33 a, the vehicle interior side wall 33 g and theinner peripheral side base wall 33 h are thick, while the vehicleexterior side wall 33 c, the inner peripheral side wall 33 d, the outerperipheral side wall 33 e, and the outer peripheral protruding wall 33 fare thin. In other words, the hollow part 33 a is thick and is excellentin stability in a portion that is held (positioned) in contact with theinner sash 30 and the guide rail 31 in the holding recess U1, while theportion sandwiched between the window glass W and the garnish 32 is thinand is highly elastically deformable.

The lip part 33 b of the elastic cover 33 extends from the hollow part33 a between the inner peripheral side wall 33 d and the innerperipheral side base wall 33 h toward the inner peripheral side. Apredetermined range on the base end side of the lip part 33 b connectedto the hollow part 33 a is inserted into the gap U2 between the windowglass W and the cover wall 31 e, while the tip end of the lip part 33 bprotrudes toward the inner peripheral side from the gap U2.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the lip part 33 b in the initial state (freestate) has a planar shape in which a vehicle interior side surface 33 jfacing the cover wall 31 e runs along the cover wall 31 e, and thevehicle exterior side surface 33 k facing the vehicle interior sidesurface W2 of the window glass W has an uneven shape. More specifically,the base end portion of the vehicle exterior side surface 33 k close tothe hollow part 33 a (the inner peripheral side wall 33 d) is a recessedshape that is recessed toward the vehicle interior side, and the innerperipheral side of the recessed portion has a protruding shape bulgingtoward the vehicle exterior side. The thickness of the protrudingportion of the lip part 33 b in the vehicle interior and exteriordirections is greater than the width of the gap U2.

A portion of the lip part 33 b protruding from the gap U2 toward theinner peripheral side is elastically deformable. The protruding portionof the lip part 33 b has a curved shape so as to protrude toward thevehicle interior side while proceeding to the inner peripheral side, andthe tip of the lip part 33 b is located in the vicinity of the tip ofthe holding wall 31 g of the guide rail 31.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 , the elastic cover 33 in the initial state(free state) has a relationship in which a part of the inner peripheralside wall 33 d (a region close to the lip part 33 b) of the hollow part33 a and a protruding shape of the vehicle exterior side surface 33 k ofthe lip part 33 b overlap the window glass W. There is also arelationship in which a part of the outer peripheral side wall 33 e (aregion close to the vehicle exterior side wall 33 c) of the hollow part33 a overlaps the garnish 32. These overlapping portions are pressed bythe window glass W and the garnish 32 so as to elastically deform theelastic cover 33, leading to the holding state illustrated in FIG. 11 .

In the holding state of FIG. 11 , the inner peripheral side wall 33 d ofthe hollow part 33 a of the elastic cover 33 is pressed by the windowglass W while being shaped to run along the edge surface W3. Thepressing force from the window glass W acts toward the outer peripheralside so as to press the hollow part 33 a against the garnish 32, and theouter peripheral side wall 33 e increases the degree of adhesion withthe inner peripheral side surface 32 e of the garnish 32. Furthermore, apressing force acts on the hollow part 33 a in the inner peripheraldirection also from the garnish 32, and the inner peripheral side wall33 d comes into close contact with the edge surface W3 of the windowglass W. Therefore, the hollow part 33 a of the elastic cover 33 adheresto both the window glass W and the garnish 32 while elasticallydeforming in the inner and outer peripheral directions, so as to closethe gap between the window glass W and the garnish 32 with highwater-tightness. The vehicle exterior side wall 33 c of the hollow part33 a is substantially flush with the vehicle exterior side surface W1 ofthe window glass W and the vehicle exterior side surface 32 a of thegarnish 32.

When the inner peripheral side wall 33 d of the hollow part 33 a ispressed against the edge surface W3 of the window glass W due to theinclined shape in the initial state (refer to FIG. 10 ), the wall 33 dalso receives the pressing force toward the vehicle interior side inaddition to the pressing force toward the outer peripheral side. Thatis, the hollow part 33 a is pressed by the component force from thewindow glass W toward the outer peripheral side and the component forcetoward the vehicle interior side. This makes the vehicle interior sidewall 33 g to be pressed against the outer peripheral extension 30 g.This pressing causes a force to push and spread the vehicle interiorside wall 33 g in the inner and outer peripheral directions. Since theinner peripheral side base wall 33 h is in a shape that comes intocontact with the positioning part 32 c 1 in the initial state (FIG. 10), the inner peripheral side base wall 33 h maintains the close contactwith the positioning part 32 c 1 and determines the position of thehollow part 33 a in the inner and outer peripheral directions.Meanwhile, there is room in the initial state (FIG. 10 ) between theouter peripheral side base wall 33 i and the step part 30 c, and thus,the hollow part 33 a presses the portion from the outer peripheral sidebase wall 33 i to the outer peripheral protruding wall 33 f against thevehicle exterior extension 30 h while reducing the space between thestep part 30 c and the outer peripheral side base wall 33 i.

In the holding state of the elastic cover 33 illustrated in FIG. 11 ,the protruding portion of the vehicle exterior side surface 33 k in thelip part 33 b is pressed by the vehicle interior side surface W2 of thewindow glass W, and the lip part 33 b is compressed and deformed in thevehicle interior and exterior directions to achieve water-tight sealingof the inside of the gap U2. Performing the sealing by the lip part 33 bat the vehicle interior side surface W2 of the window glass W inaddition to the sealing by the hollow part 33 a at the edge surface W3of the window glass W will further enhance the water-tightness betweenthe window glass W and the upright pillar sash 12.

In the door 10 of the present embodiment in particular, the componentsof the window regulator 40 are incorporated in the upright pillar sash12 as described below. Therefore, using the elastic cover 33 to seal theportion between the window glass W and the upright pillar sash 12 withhigh water-tightness will be highly effective.

With the configuration of the elastic cover 33 in which the portion heldby the holding recess U1 and sandwiched between the window glass W andthe garnish 32 is formed as the hollow part 33 a, it is possible toachieve a seal member having excellent stability in cross-sectionalstructure compared to the case of a partially open cross section or acantilevered form. As a result, the hollow part 33 a can be reliablybrought into contact with the window glass W and each of portions of theupright pillar sash 12 (the step part 30 c, the positioning part 31 c 1,and the inner peripheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32) with anappropriate contact pressure while absorbing variations in componentaccuracy and assembly accuracy of the elastic cover 33 and itsperipheral members (the inner sash 30, the guide rail 31, the garnish32), leading to achievement of high water-tightness.

Furthermore, even when the gap between the window glass W and thegarnish 32 has variations in the inner and outer peripheral directions,the hollow part 33 a can maintain a stable external width in the innerand outer peripheral directions.

Furthermore, with the configuration in which the outer peripheral sidebase wall 33 i has a predetermined space between the step part 30 c inthe hollow part 33 a in the initial state (FIG. 10 ), and the elasticcover 33 is elastically deformed in a direction to reduce the space whenforming the holding state (FIG. 11 ), it is possible to enhance theperformance of absorbing variations in accuracy.

In the hollow part 33 a in the holding state of FIG. 11 , using aconfiguration in which the substantially L-shaped outer peripheral sidewall 33 e and the outer peripheral protruding wall 33 f are fitted tothe inner peripheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32 would achieve higherstability. As described above, the hollow part 33 a receives thepressing force from the window glass W to the outer peripheral side andthe vehicle interior side due to the inclined shape of the innerperipheral side wall 33 d in the initial state (FIG. 10 ), and thevehicle interior side wall 33 g comes in contact with the outerperipheral extension 30 g of the inner sash 30, thereby regulating themovement toward the vehicle interior side. Furthermore, the outerperipheral protruding wall 33 f faces the end surface 32 g of the innerperipheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32, thereby regulating the movement(falling off) of the hollow part 33 a to the vehicle exterior side. Thismakes it possible to stably hold the hollow part 33 a in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions.

Although details will be described below, the first section S1 of theguide rail 31 is a portion that slidably supports shoes 43 and 44 of thesliders 45 and 46 that support the window glass W. That is, the positionof the window glass W in the inner and outer peripheral directions isdetermined by the inner peripheral side wall 31 b and the partition wall31 f constituting the first section S1 of the guide rail 31, and theposition of the window glass W in the vehicle interior and exteriordirections is determined by the vehicle interior side wall 31 a and theholding wall 31 g. The positioning part 31 c 1 for positioning theelastic cover 33 in the inner and outer peripheral directions is a partof the guide rail 31. That is, both the window glass W and the elasticcover 33 are positioned with reference to the guide rail 31. This makesit possible to achieve a stable positional relationship (suppressingpositional variation) between the window glass W and the elastic cover33. Since the elastic cover 33 functions as a sealing member by beingpressed by the window glass W in the holding state (FIG. 11 ).Therefore, when the positional relationship between the window glass Wand the elastic cover 33 is stable, the degree of adhesion of theelastic cover 33 to the window glass W and each of components of theupright pillar sash 12 will be stabilized, leading to achievement ofhigh water-tightness by the elastic cover 33. Furthermore, as describedbelow, since the elastic cover 33 allows the lip part 33 b to come incontact with the sliders 45 and 46. Therefore, when the positionalrelationship between the window glass W and the elastic cover 33 isstable, it is possible to suppress a change in the load on the sliders45 and 46, leading to achievement of enhanced sliding performance of thesliders 45 and 46 with respect to the guide rail 31.

The garnish 32 and the elastic cover 33 are parts that form theappearance of the upright pillar sash 12 when the door 10 is viewed fromthe vehicle exterior side. The upright pillar sash 12 has a flashsurface structure in which the garnish 32 is arranged in a positionalrelationship substantially flush with the vehicle exterior side surfaceW1 of the window glass W. The elastic cover 33 is held in a highlyaccurate and stable state in which the hollow part 33 a is unlikely tobulge toward the vehicle exterior side as described above. Accordingly,it is possible to have an appearance having aesthetic excellence in theflash surface structure as well as in the window glass W and the garnish32 while achieving excellent water-tightness.

In addition, the garnish 32 sets the position of the parting line L1generated by the molding to the vehicle interior side of theintersection K1 (the position where the vehicle interior side surface 32b is extended) on the inner peripheral side surface 32 e of the innerperipheral edge 32 c (refer to FIG. 13 ). This configuration makes itpossible to reliably cover the parting line L1 with the elastic cover 33even when there is some variation in accuracy. Since the parting line L1is not visible in the appearance, the garnish 32 has good appearance,contributing to the aesthetic improvement in the upright pillar sash 12.

The elastic cover 33 includes the lip part 33 b located on the vehicleinterior side of the window glass W and covers most of the guide rail 31from the vehicle exterior side, in addition to the hollow part 33 awhich is visible directly in the appearance of the upright pillar sash12 between the window glass W and the garnish 32. With thisconfiguration, the internal structure of the upright pillar sash 12 iscovered on the inner peripheral side of the garnish 32 withsubstantially no visibility in the appearance, leading to achievement ofan excellent aesthetic appearance even in a region where the windowglass W and the upright pillar sash 12 overlap in the vehicle interiorand exterior directions.

As illustrated in FIG. 12 , the state in which the window glass W doesnot exist at the cross-sectional position of the upright pillar sash 12to be attached is produced when the elastic cover 33 is to be attachedto the upright pillar sash 12. Specifically, the window glass W islowered to the fully open position (refer to FIG. 20 ). In this state,the elastic cover 33 is inclined as illustrated in FIG. 12 , and thehollow part 33 a is inserted in the direction of an arrow IN. The hollowpart 33 a enters the holding recess U1 after passing between thepositioning part 31 c 1 of the guide rail 31 and the inner peripheraledge 32 c of the garnish 32. At this time, the outer peripheral sidebase wall 33 i of the elastic cover 33 and the inner peripheral sidesurface 32 e of the garnish 32 come in contact with each other. Theouter peripheral side base wall 33 i and the inner peripheral sidesurface 32 e form an inclined shape so as to push the hollow part 33 atoward the inner peripheral side as proceeding in an insertion direction(arrow IN). Therefore, the hollow part 33 a is inserted into the holdingrecess U1 through the space with the positioning part 31 c 1 while beingcompressed and contracted in the inner and outer peripheral directions.Since the outer peripheral side base wall 33 i and the inner peripheralside surface 32 e have mutually smooth inclined shapes, the hollow part33 a can be smoothly inserted into the holding recess U1.

After the hollow part 33 a is inserted into the holding recess U1 alongthe arrow IN in FIG. 12 , the elastic cover 33 is rotated clockwise inFIG. 12 . This movement allows the outer peripheral side wall 33 e andthe outer peripheral protruding wall 33 f of the elastic cover 33 to befitted to the inner peripheral edge 32 c of the garnish 32, leading tothe stable holding state of the elastic cover 33 illustrated in FIG. 10. At this time, falling off of the hollow part 33 a of the elastic cover33 from the holding recess U1 to the inner peripheral side or thevehicle exterior side is restricted by the positioning part 31 c 1 andthe inner peripheral edge 32 c. That is, the position of the hollow part33 a of the elastic cover 33 is determined in both the vehicle interiorand exterior directions and the inner and outer peripheral directionswith respect to the holding recess U1. Accordingly, even in a statewhere the window glass W is opened (the state where the window glass Wis omitted from FIG. 10 ), the elastic cover 33 after attachment isstably held by the upright pillar sash 12.

As described above, the upper sash 11 and the upright pillar sash 12have partially different cross-sectional structures. The upper sash 11and the upright pillar sash 12 having different cross-sectionalstructures are connected with each other via the connecting member 35 atthe door corner part 10 d. The connecting member 35 is manufactured bydie-casting a metal such as aluminum. The connecting member 35 includes:a first frame part 35 a located on an extension of the upper sash 11;and a second frame part 35 b located on an extension of the uprightpillar sash 12.

The front end of the first frame part 35 a of the connecting member 35is a contact end surface 35 c facing the rear end of the sash body 20 ofthe upper sash 11. The contact end surface 35 c has a shape includingthe frame part 20 a and the plate part 20 b in the sash body 20, and aregion corresponding to a hollow part of the frame part 20 a is closedin the contact end surface 35 c. This makes it possible to reliablybring the rear end surface of the sash body 20 into contact with thecontact end surface 35 c.

An insertion projection 35 d is provided to project forward from thecontact end surface 35 c (refer to FIGS. 6 and 7 ). The insertionprojection 35 d has a shape to run along the inner surface of the hollowframe part 20 a. The insertion projection 35 d is inserted into theframe part 20 a in a state where the rear end surface of the sash body20 is in contact with the contact end surface 35 c. In this state, theconnecting member 35 and the sash body 20 are joined by means such aswelding.

At an upper end of the connecting member 35, there is provided a platepart 35 i which is continuous with the plate part 20 b of the upper sash11 in a state where the upper sash 11 and the first frame part 35 a arejoined with each other. A weather-strip (not illustrated) held by theweather-strip holder 24 of the upper sash 11 extends to above theconnecting member 35 and is continuously held by the plate part 35 i.

The lower end of the second frame part 35 b of the connecting member 35has a shape corresponding to a portion of the inner sash 30 of theupright pillar sash 12 excluding the design part 30 b. Morespecifically, the connecting member 35 includes: a vehicle interior sidewall 35 e continuous with the vehicle interior side wall 30 d; an innerperipheral side wall 35 f continuous with the inner peripheral side wall30 e; and an outer peripheral side wall 35 g continuous with the outerperipheral side wall 30 f Furthermore, a bent part 35 h continuous witha part of the outer peripheral extension 30 g on the inner peripheralside is provided at the vehicle exterior side end of the outerperipheral side wall 35 g.

The inner peripheral side wall 35 f of the second frame part 35 b havepartially different thicknesses in the inner and outer peripheraldirections. The inner peripheral side wall 35 f is thick near the lowerend of the second frame part 35 b, and an insertion projection 35 j isprovided to project downward from the lower end surface of the innerperipheral side wall 35 f (refer to FIGS. 6 and 7 ). The insertionprojection 35 j has a shape to run along the inner surface of the framepart 30 a of the inner sash 30, and the insertion projection 35 j isinserted into the frame part 30 a in a state where the upper end surfaceof the inner sash 30 is in contact with the lower end surface of thesecond frame part 35 b. In this state, the connecting member 35 and theinner sash 30 are joined by means such as welding.

The design part 30 b and the step part 30 c of the inner sash 30 (thewhole of the vehicle exterior extension 30 h and a part of the outerperipheral side of the outer peripheral extension 30 g) extend to theupper end of the upright pillar sash 12. At a position above the jointbetween the lower end surface of the second frame part 35 b and theupper end surface of the inner sash 30, the edge of the bent part 35 hon the connecting member 35 comes in contact with a vertically extendingside contact surface 30 i formed on the step part 30 c (refer to FIGS.16 to 18 ).

As illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 , the vehicle exterior side end of theinner peripheral side wall 35 f comes in contact with the bent part 31 dof the guide rail 31, thereby determining the position of the connectingmember 35 with respect to the inner sash 30 in the vehicle interior andexterior directions. In addition, similar to the general cross-section(FIG. 9 ) of the upright pillar sash 12, a third section S3 is formed,inside the second frame part 35 b joined to the upright pillar sash 12,so as to be surrounded by the vehicle interior side wall 35 e, the innerperipheral side wall 35 f, the outer peripheral side wall 35 g, and thevehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31.

By joining the first frame part 35 a and the second frame part 35 brespectively to the sash body 20 and the inner sash 30 as describedabove, the upper sash 11 and the upright pillar sash 12 are connectedvia the connecting member 35, thereby forming the door corner part 10 d.

The vehicle interior side wall 35 e of the connecting member 35 has anL-shape extending forward and downward from the position near the upperend of the upright pillar sash 12 when viewed from the vehicle interiorside as illustrated in FIG. 5 . The vehicle interior side wall 35 e issubstantially flush with each of the vehicle interior side wall 20 c ofthe upper sash 11 and the vehicle interior side wall 30 d of the uprightpillar sash 12. The inner peripheral side wall 35 f of the connectingmember 35 extends forward and downward while bending, and issubstantially flush with each of the inner peripheral side wall 20 d ofthe upper sash 11 and the inner peripheral side wall 30 e of the uprightpillar sash 12. Similarly, the outer peripheral side wall 35 g of theconnecting member 35 extends forward and downward while bending, and issubstantially flush with each of the outer peripheral side wall 20 e ofthe upper sash 11 and the outer peripheral side wall 30 f of the uprightpillar sash 12. That is, the frame part 20 a of the upper sash 11(excluding the vehicle exterior side wall 20 f) and the frame part 30 aof the upright pillar sash 12 are smoothly connected with each other bythe first frame part 35 a and the second frame part 35 b of theconnecting member 35.

The connecting member 35 changes the internal shape of the second framepart 35 b in accordance with the difference in the position in thevertical direction. As illustrated in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 , unlike theinner peripheral side wall 30 e of the inner sash 30 in the generalcross section (refer to FIG. 9 ), the inner peripheral side wall 35 f inthe second frame part 35 b gradually increases its thickness from theportion connected to the vehicle interior side wall 35 e toward thevehicle exterior side. Consequently, the inner peripheral side wall 35 foverlaps a part of the guide rail 31 in the inner and outer peripheraldirections, thereby forming a step part 35 k shaped to fit into a cornerat the boundary between the vehicle interior side wall 31 a and theinner peripheral side wall 31 b, on the inner peripheral side wall 35 f(refer to FIGS. 16 and 17 ). Further above the second frame part 35 b,the inner peripheral side wall 35 f extends forward to be continuous tothe first frame part 35 a as illustrated in FIG. 18 .

Furthermore, the second frame part 35 b also has partially differentthicknesses in the vehicle interior and exterior directions with respectto the vehicle interior side wall 35 e. The thickness of the vehicleinterior side wall 35 e is substantially the same as the thickness ofthe vehicle interior side wall 30 d of the inner sash 30 near the lowerend of the second frame part 35 b. As illustrated in FIGS. 6, 16, and 17, the vehicle interior side wall 35 e extends upward while substantiallymaintaining this thickness, and the third section S3 ensures asufficient width in the vehicle interior and exterior directions up to aposition near the upper end of the upright pillar sash 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 18 , at a position above the secondframe part 35 b (at a position on the rear extension of the first framepart 35 a), the region continuing upward to the above-described vehicleinterior side wall 35 e is defined as a thick part 35 m whose thicknessis partially increased up to a position in the proximity of the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31. The thick part 35 m formsa seat surface facing the vehicle exterior side. There are provided anescape recess 35 n as a part of the third section S3 and a screw hole 35p communicating with the escape recess 35 n, formed to be recessed fromthe seat surface to the vehicle interior side. The escape recess 35 n isa space having an L-shaped cross-sectional shape including: a firstregion located on the vehicle interior side of the first section S1 andthe second section S2 along the vehicle interior side wall 31 a; and asecond region obtained by extending a portion of the first regioncorresponding to the first section S1 toward the vehicle interior side.The screw hole 35 p is a cylindrical hole that extends a portion of thefirst region of the escape recess 35 n corresponding to the secondsection S2 toward the vehicle interior side, having a female screwformed on its inner peripheral surface. Each of the escape recess 35 nand the screw hole 35 p is a bottomed recess or hole recessed from thevehicle exterior side toward the vehicle interior side and do notpenetrate (open) onto the vehicle interior side surface of the secondframe part 35 b.

As described above, the connecting member 35 having a complicatedstructure having a different cross-sectional shape and thicknessdepending on the difference in the position of the door sash 10 b in thelongitudinal direction can be manufactured with high precision by diecasting. Moreover, since the connecting member 35 as a die-cast productcan internally form the bottomed screw hole 35 p or the thick part 35 mor the like with high precision without forming a mold release hole orthe like on the outer surface, it is possible to achieve both highinternal functionality and excellent appearance.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the upright pillar sash 12 further includesan inner cover 36 that covers the inner sash 30 and the connectingmember 35 from the vehicle interior side. Note that the cross-sectionalviews of the upright pillar sash 12 (FIGS. 9 to 11 and FIGS. 14 to 18 )omit illustration of the inner cover 36. The inner cover 36 includes: aframe part 36 a having a cross-sectional shape substantiallycorresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the frame part 30 a of theinner sash 30 and the second frame part 35 b of the connecting member35; and a plate part 36 b protruding from the frame part 36 a toward thevehicle exterior side.

The plate part 36 b of the inner cover 36 has a shape that is continuouswith the plate part 35 i of the connecting member 35. A weather-stripholder (not illustrated) formed of another component is attached fromthe plate part 35 i to the plate part 36 b. The weather-strip iscontinuously held by the portions from the weather-strip holder 24(refer to FIG. 2 ) of the upper sash 11 to the weather-strip holder onthe plate part 35 i and the plate part 36 b, and is arranged over theentire outer peripheral portions of the door sash 10 b including thedoor corner part 10 d.

The door 10 includes a window regulator 40 (refer to FIGS. 8, 22 to 24 )for performing elevating and lowering drive of the window glass W. Thewindow regulator 40 is incorporated in the upright pillar sash 12.

The window regulator 40 includes: two shoe bases, namely, upper andlower shoe bases 41 and 42 secured to the window glass W; and two shoes,namely, upper and lower shoes 43 and 44, which is mounted on each of theshoe bases 41 and 42 and supported to be vertically slidable withrespect to the guide rail 31. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 21 , theshoe 43 is attached to the shoe base 41 to form the upper slider 45while the shoe 44 is attached to the shoe base 42 to form the lowerslider 46. The guide rail 31 that forms the upright pillar sash 12 incooperation with the inner sash 30 also functions as a vertical movementguide part for the sliders 45 and 46 in the window regulator 40.

The guide rail 31 extends downward below the inner sash 30 and the innercover 36 (refer to FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The guide rail 31 is exposed, notsurrounded by the inner sash 30 or the inner cover 36 in the internalspace of the door panel 10 a. A motor unit 50 including a motor M as adrive source of the window regulator 40 is attached to an exposedportion of the guide rail 31 in the internal space of the door panel 10a (refer to FIGS. 1, 8, and 19 ).

One end of each of a first wire 52 and a second wire 53 is connected toa winding drum 51 (refer to FIGS. 8, 22 to 24 ) built in the motor unit50. The first wire 52 extends upward from the winding drum 51 so as tobe wound around a guide pulley 54 rotatably supported near the upper endof the guide rail 31 (door corner part 10 d), and then turns downward,with the other end connected to the shoe base 41 of the slider 45 fromabove. The second wire 53 extends upward from the winding drum 51,having the other end connected to the shoe base 41 of the slider 45 frombelow.

Rotating the winding drum 51 by driving the motor M of the motor unit 50relatively changes the winding amount of the first wire 52 and thesecond wire 53 with respect to a spiral groove formed on a peripheralsurface of the winding drum 51. Rotating the winding drum 51 in thefirst direction to increase the winding amount of the first wire 52 willpull the slider 45 (shoe base 41) upward by the first wire 52, so as tomove the slider 45 upward while allowing the sliding movement of theshoe 43 along the guide rail 31. Rotating the winding drum 51 in thesecond direction to increase the winding amount of the second wire 53will pull the slider 45 (shoe base 41) downward by the second wire 53,so as to move the slider 45 downward while allowing the sliding movementof the shoe 43 along the guide rail 31. The wires 52 and 53, opposite tothe side on which the winding amount increases, are unwound (loosened)from the winding drum 51 so as to follow the movement of the slider 45.Vertical movement of the slider 45 causes the window glass W secured tothe shoe base 41 to perform vertical operation. The slider 46 secured tothe window glass W via the shoe base 42 moves together with the windowglass W while allowing sliding movement of the shoe 44 along the guiderail 31 so as to stabilize the posture of the window glass W. Thedetailed structure of the window regulator 40 that operates as describedabove will be described.

Out of the elements included in the slider 45 and the slider 46, theshoe base 41 and the shoe base 42 secured to the window glass W arerigid bodies formed of metal or the like. Each of the shoe 43 and theshoe 44 moving along the guide rail 31 is formed of a material such assynthetic resin having a lower hardness than the metal or the likeforming the guide rail 31 in order to achieve smooth movement whilepreventing abnormal noise and vibration.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 21 , the shoe base 41 has a verticallylong shape, and includes: a glass support 41 a located on the vehicleexterior side; a connection part 41 b protruding toward the vehicleinterior side from the glass support 41 a; and a shoe support 41 cprovided at the vehicle interior side end of the connection part 41 b.As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 , the glass support 41 a is a platepart whose front and back surfaces (side surfaces) facing the vehicleinterior and exterior directions, with the vehicle exterior side surfaceof the glass support 41 a arranged opposite the vehicle interior sidesurface W2 of the window glass W. The connection part 41 b is a platepart that protrudes from the vehicle interior side surface of the glasssupport 41 a, having both side surfaces facing the inner and outerperipheral directions. That is, the glass support 41 a and theconnection part 41 b of the shoe base 41 have a substantially T-shapedcross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (refer to FIG.25(A)).

The glass support 41 a and the connection part 41 b each have a loadreduction part 41 d and a load reduction part 41 e at both ends in thelongitudinal direction. The surface of the glass support 41 a facing thevehicle interior side is a tapered surface that is inclined toward thevehicle exterior side while approaching the tip near the end in thelongitudinal direction. A tapered portion (having a shape that graduallyreduces the cross-sectional area) formed by this tapered surface is theload reduction part 41 d. As illustrated in FIG. 25(B), a side surfacefacing the inner peripheral side and a side surface facing the outerperipheral side individually form tapered surfaces 41 e 1 that reducethe distance between each other while proceeding to the tip at a portionnear the end of the connection part 41 b in the longitudinal direction.A tapered portion (having a shape that gradually reduces thecross-sectional area) formed by these tapered surfaces 41 e 1 is theload reduction part 41 e.

The surface of the glass support 41 a facing the vehicle exterior sideis secured to the vehicle interior side surface W2 of the window glass Wby bonding or the like. A portion of the connection part 41 b on theupper end side increases the amount of protrusion toward the vehicleinterior side and passes through the space between the inner peripheralside wall 31 b and the holding wall 31 g of the guide rail 31, and thenenters the first section S1 (refer to FIGS. 15 and 16 ). The shoesupport 41 c is provided in the protruding portion of the connectionpart 41 b inserted into the first section S1. The shoe support 41 c hasan L-shaped cross-sectional shape in which the vehicle interior side endof the connection part 41 b is bent toward the outer peripheral side.The shoe 43 is to be attached to the shoe support 41 c (refer to FIGS.15 and 16 ).

As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 21 , the shoe 43 has a vertically longshape and includes: a sliding base 43 a located in the middle in thelongitudinal direction; and a first elastic contact part 43 b and asecond elastic contact part 43 c respectively protruding from the upperand lower ends of the sliding base 43 a. The sliding base 43 a is asolid structure having a substantially rectangular cross sectionperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the shoe 43. The shoesupport 41 c is inserted into the sliding base 43 a. The sliding base 43a is secured to the shoe support 41 c via a connection pin 47 (refer toFIG. 15 ).

The first elastic contact part 43 b is an elongated ring-shaped bodyprotruding from the upper end surface of the sliding base 43 a, having ashape in which a pair of curved parts protruding toward vehicle interiorand exterior directions is connected at upper and lower ends, with ahollow part between the pair of curved parts penetrating in the innerand outer peripheral directions. With this shape, the first elasticcontact part 43 b is easily elastically deformed in the vehicle interiorand exterior directions.

The second elastic contact part 43 c is an elongated ring-shaped partprotruding from the lower end surface of the sliding base 43 a, having ashape in which a pair of curved parts protruding toward the inner andouter peripheral directions is connected at upper and lower ends, with ahollow part between the pair of curved parts penetrating in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions. With this shape, the second elasticcontact part 43 c is easily elastically deformed in the inner and outerperipheral directions.

The shoe 43 is inserted into the first section S1 of the guide rail 31(refer to FIGS. 15 and 16 ). In the shoe base 41, the connection part 41b connecting the glass support 41 a and the shoe support 41 c passesbetween the inner peripheral side wall 31 b and the holding wall 31 gwithout interfering with the guide rail 31. Four outer surfaces of thesliding base 43 a having a rectangular cross section slidably andopposedly come in contact with the vehicle interior side wall 31 a, theinner peripheral side wall 31 b, the partition wall 31 f, and theholding wall 31 g of the guide rail 31 surrounding the first section S1.With this configuration, the shoe 43 is supported so as to be slidablein the vertical direction within the first section S1 while beingregulated in the movement with respect to the guide rail 31 in thevehicle interior and exterior directions and the inner and outerperipheral directions.

The first elastic contact part 43 b of the shoe 43 faces the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a and the holding wall 31 g arranged opposite eachother in the vehicle interior and exterior directions within the firstsection S1 (refer to FIG. 18 ). The first elastic contact part 43 b isbiased in either vehicle interior side or the vehicle interior side soas to maintain a state of contact with either the holding wall 31 g orthe vehicle interior side wall 31 a. This suppresses backlash of theshoe 43 in the vehicle interior and exterior directions. In the presentembodiment, the first elastic contact part 43 b is biased in a direction(vehicle exterior side) to come in contact with the holding wall 31 g(refer to FIG. 18 ).

The second elastic contact part 43 c of the shoe 43 faces the innerperipheral side wall 31 b and the partition wall 31 f arranged oppositethe inner and outer peripheral directions within the first section S1.The second elastic contact part 43 c is biased in a direction that iseither the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side so as tomaintain a state of contact with either the inner peripheral side wall31 b or the partition wall 31 f. This suppresses backlash of the shoe 43in the inner and outer peripheral directions.

Compared with the first elastic contact part 43 b and the second elasticcontact part 43 c, which are thin and hollow and thus easily elasticallydeformed, the sliding base 43 a has a thicker solid structure and ahigher hardness. This configuration enables the shoe 43 to slide withhigh positioning accuracy with respect to the guide rail 31 in both thevehicle interior and exterior directions and the inner and outerperipheral directions.

The lip part 33 b of the elastic cover 33 is in a free state (statewhere the base portion of the lip part 33 b is merely held between thevehicle interior side surface W2 of the window glass W and the coverwall 31 e of the guide rail 31 as illustrated in FIG. 9 ), with theportion near the tip located on the movement trajectory of the shoe base41. Therefore, the vertical movement of the slider 45 in a state ofbeing supported on the guide rail 31 via the shoe 43 will allow the lippart 33 b to come in contact with the shoe base 41 and receive apressing force so as to be elastically deformed.

More specifically, FIGS. 9 to 11 and FIGS. 14 to 18 illustrate the shapeof the lip part 33 b in the free state. FIGS. 25(A) and 25(B) illustratethe shape of the lip part 33 b in contact with the shoe base 41. FIG.25(A) illustrates a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the shoe base 41. FIG. 25(B) illustrates a cross section inthe longitudinal direction of the shoe base 41. As illustrated in FIG.25(A), the lip part 33 b allows its intermediate portion to pass througha position near the corner of the glass support 41 a on the outerperipheral side and on the vehicle interior side and allows its tipportion to come in contact with the outer peripheral side surface of theconnection part 41 b. The tip portion of the lip part 33 b is pressed bythe shoe base 41, whereby the lip part 33 b is elastically deformedtoward the vehicle interior side and the outer peripheral side with thepart sandwiched between the vehicle interior side surface W2 of thewindow glass W and the cover wall 31 e as a fulcrum. The shape of thelip part 33 b before elastic deformation is illustrated by a one-dotchain line in FIG. 25(A). Since the lip part 33 b originally has acurved shape that is easily elastically deformed in the direction andthus can be smoothly deformed without applying an excessive load to theshoe base 41.

Furthermore, the load reduction part 41 e is formed at both ends of theconnection part 41 b where the tip portion of the lip part 33 b is firstpressed by the vertically moving shoe base 41. As illustrated in FIG.25(B), the load reduction part 41 e has a tapered shape whereby thetapered surface 41 e 1 provided on both sides in the inner and outerperipheral directions reduces the cross-sectional area toward the end(traveling direction) of the shoe base 41 and reduces the contactpressure onto the lip part 33 b. Therefore, the moving shoe base 41always starts to press the lip part 33 b smoothly with a small load bythe load reduction part 41 e.

Similar to the load reduction part 41 e of the connection part 41 b, theload reduction parts 41 d provided at both ends of the glass support 41a have an effect of reducing the load when the glass support 41 a comesinto contact with the lip part 33 b. As illustrated by a one-dot chainline in FIG. 25(A), the lip part 33 b is designed so as to be inproximity to the glass support 41 a without coming into contact with theglass support 41 a in a free state not to be pressed by the connectionpart 41 b. This allows the load reduction part 41 d to have an auxiliaryrole that functions only when the lip part 33 b approaches exceeding thedesigned position to come into contact with the glass support 41 a dueto variations in accuracy or the like.

As described above, with the presence of the load reduction part 41 eand the load reduction part 41 d provided on the shoe base 41, thesmooth elastic deformation of the lip part 33 b and the smooth movementof the shoe base 41 can be achieved without causing an obstructionbetween the shoe base 41 and the lip part 33 b. Furthermore, it ispossible to obtain an effect of suppressing an abnormal sound (such aschattering sound of the lip part 33 b) generated between the shoe base41 and the lip part 33 b. The load reduction part 41 e and the loadreduction part 41 d on the upper end side contribute to improving thesmoothness of operation when the shoe base 41 moves upward, while theload reduction part 41 e and the load reduction part 41 d on the lowerend side contribute to improving the smoothness of operation when theshoe base 41 moves downward.

Note that the connection part 41 b of the shoe base 41 may also employan asymmetric structure having the tapered surface 41 e 1 only on theouter peripheral side with which the tip portion of the lip part 33 bcomes in contact instead of a configuration having a tapered surface 41e 1 on both the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side likethe above-described load reduction part 41 e.

Similar to the shoe base 41, the shoe base 42 has a vertically longshape, and includes: a glass support 42 a located on the vehicleexterior side; a connection part 42 b protruding toward the vehicleinterior side from the glass support 42 a; and a shoe support 42 cprovided at the vehicle interior side end of the connection part 42 b.(refer to FIGS. 8 and 21 ).

The shoe base 42 has substantially the same structure as the shoe base41 described above (structure in which the glass support 41 a, theconnection part 41 b, and the shoe support 41 c are turned upside down)and arrangements and the roles with respect to the guide rail 31 inindividual portions are similar to those of the shoe base 41, and thus,detailed description is omitted. The load reduction part 41 d and theload reduction part 42 e (tapered surfaces 41 e 2) formed at the upperand lower ends of the glass support 42 a also function similar to theload reduction part 41 d and the load reduction part 41 e of the shoebase 41. In FIGS. 25(A) and 25(B), reference numerals in parenthesesindicate portions of the shoe base 42 corresponding to the shoe base 41.

The shoe 44 includes a sliding base 44 a having a solid structure, and afirst elastic contact part 44 b and a second elastic contact part 44 crespectively protruding from the lower end and the upper end of theslide base 44 a. The sliding base 44 a, the first elastic contact part44 b, and the second elastic contact part 44 c have substantially thesame structure as the sliding base 43 a, the first elastic contact part43 b, and the second elastic contact part 43 c of the shoe 43 describedabove, respectively (structure in which the first elastic contact part43 b and the second elastic contact part 43 c are exchanged upside down)in which arrangements and roles of individual portions with respect tothe guide rail 31 are similar to the shoe 43 side, and thus, detaileddescription is omitted.

As described above, the lower slider 46 has the basic structure similarto the upper slider 45. FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional positionpassing through the slider 45 and also illustrates signs indicating thecomponents of the slider 46 in parentheses in order to indicate that theslider 46 is also guided by the guide rail 31 in a similar manner.

As illustrated in FIG. 20 , the shoe base 41 of the slider 45 and theshoe base 42 of the slider 46 individually support the rear edge sidealong the upright pillar sash 12 in the window glass W. The glasssupport 41 a of the shoe base 41 located above is secured to the windowglass W over a range E1 (FIG. 20 ) in the vertical direction from thevicinity of the upper end of the rear edge of the window glass Wdownward. The glass support 42 a of the shoe base 42 located below issecured to the window glass W over a range E2 (FIG. 20 ) in the verticaldirection from the vicinity of the lower end of the rear edge of thewindow glass W upward.

In this manner, since the slider 45 and the slider 46 constituting thewindow regulator 40 support the window glass W at positions largelyseparated in the vertical direction, the position accuracy and stabilityof the window glass W are extremely high in the portion along theupright pillar sash 12. In particular, as illustrated in FIG. 20 , thewindow glass W has a configuration in which the rear edge along theupright pillar sash 12 is vertically longer than the front edge alongthe front sash 13. By arranging the slider 45 and the slider 46 atpositions spaced from each other near the upper end and the lower end ofthe rear edge of the window glass W, it is possible to dramaticallyincrease the effective support length with respect to the window glass Win the vertical direction, enabling acquisition of sufficient stabilityand support strength even in a structure in which a single-side edge inthe front-rear directions supports the window glass W.

In the upper slider 45, a shoe 43 is provided near the upper end of theshoe base 41, while in the lower slider 46, a shoe 44 is provided nearthe lower end of the shoe base 42 (refer to FIGS. 8, 21, 23, and 24 ).This arrangement makes it possible to obtain the largest shoe pitch (theinterval in the vertical direction between the two shoes 43 and 44)within a range in the vertical direction where the shoe bases 41 and 42are provided. The greater the shoe pitch, the higher the easiness insuppressing the inclination of the window glass W with respect to theguide rail 31 (inclination in the inner and outer peripheral directionsin particular), leading to highly accurate support and higher stabilityof the window glass W.

The upright pillar sash 12 supporting the window glass W with suchexcellent accuracy and stability includes no elastic member such as theglass run 23 of the upper sash 11 for holding the window glass W in thevehicle interior and exterior directions. The elastic cover 33 coming incontact with the rear edge of the window glass W ensures waterproofnessbetween the window glass W and the upright pillar sash 12 (garnish 32)and functions as an external component of the upright pillar sash 12,making it possible to have a cross-sectional shape more compact andsimple compared to the glass run 23.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 21 , the shoe base 41 constituting theupper slider 45 further includes a portion for connecting the first wire52 and the second wire 53. A pair of upper and lower arms protrudingsideways from the connection part 41 b is provided below the shoesupport 41 c (refer to FIG. 8 ), and a wire end support 41 f and a wireend support 41 g are provided at the tip of individual arms. The wireend supports 41 f and 41 g are individually formed integrally with themain body of the shoe base 41.

With the shoe 43 inserted into the first section S1 of the guide rail31, the wire end support 41 f and the wire end support 41 g individuallyenter the second section S2 (refer to FIG. 17 ). Each of the wire endsupports 41 f and 41 g has a wire insertion hole 41 h and a wireinsertion hole 41 i respectively penetrating in the vertical direction.Each of the wire insertion hole 41 h and the wire insertion hole 41 i isa hole having a closed cross-sectional shape that is open only at bothends in the vertical direction and not having an opening on the sides(vehicle interior and exterior directions or inner and outer peripheraldirections).

The first wire 52 is inserted into the wire insertion hole 41 h of thewire end support 41 f, and a wire end 55 to which the end of the firstwire 52 is connected is located below the wire end support 41 f. Thefirst wire 52 extends upward from the wire insertion hole 41 h throughthe inside of the second section S2. The upper end surface of the wireend 55 (an end surface on the side to which the first wire 52 isconnected) comes in contact with the lower end surface of the wire endsupport 41 f, thereby regulating the upward movement of the wire end 55with respect to the shoe base 41 (force generated by pulling the wireend 55 upward will be transmitted to the shoe base 41).

The wire end 55 has a large diameter flange near the lower end, and acompression spring 56 is inserted between the flange and the wire endsupport 41 f. The wire end 55 is biased downward with respect to theshoe base 41 by the compression spring 56, and the slack of the firstwire 52 is removed by the biasing force.

The second wire 53 is inserted into the wire insertion hole 41 i of thewire end support 41 g, and a wire end 57 to which the end of the secondwire 53 is connected is located above the wire end support 41 g. Thesecond wire 53 extends downward from the wire insertion hole 41 ithrough the second section S2. The lower end surface of the wire end 57(an end surface on the side to which the second wire 53 is connected)comes in contact with the upper end surface of the wire end support 41g, thereby regulating the downward movement of the wire end 57 withrespect to the shoe base 42 (force generated by pulling the wire end 57downward will be transmitted to the shoe base 41).

The wire end 57 has a large diameter flange near the upper end, and acompression spring 58 is inserted between the flange and the wire endsupport 41 g. The wire end 57 is biased upward with respect to the shoebase 41 by the compression spring 58, and the slack of the second wire53 is removed by the biasing force.

The first section S1 in which the shoes 43 and 44 are inserted, and thesecond section S2 in which the wire end supports 41 f and 41 g of theshoe bases 41 and 42 are disposed, are located on the vehicle exteriorside with respect to the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guiderail 31. Meanwhile, the motor unit 50 is attached to the vehicleinterior side surface of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of theguide rail 31 in the door panel inner space below the belt linereinforcement 16.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 , the motor unit 50 includes: a drive unit 50 aequipped with a motor M, a reduction gear mechanism, or the like; and adrum housing 50 b that rotatably houses the winding drum 51. Theperipheral surface of the drum housing 50 b has a notch to allow passageof the first wire 52 and the second wire 53 extending from the windingdrum 51. When the drive unit 50 a and the drum housing 50 b arecombined, a drive shaft 50 c provided on the drive unit 50 a is linkedto a shaft hole of the winding drum 51, allowing the driving force ofthe motor M to be transmitted to the winding drum 51.

The motor unit 50 is secured to the guide rail 31 by bringing upper andlower brackets 50 d and 50 e provided on the drum housing 50 b intocontact with the vehicle interior side surface of the vehicle interiorside wall 31 a and then bolting the contact portion. When the motor unit50 is secured, the center of rotation of the winding drum 51 (axis ofthe drive shaft 50 c) faces the inner and outer peripheral directions.

The vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 is providedwith a through hole 31 h formed between the fastening positions of thebracket 50 d and the bracket 50 e in the vertical direction (refer toFIGS. 8 and 22 ). The through hole 31 h is provided in a region of thevehicle interior side wall 31 a that forms the second section S2 (aregion closer to the outer peripheral side in the inner and outerperipheral directions).

At a position slightly above the through hole 31 h, a wire guide member60 and a wire guide member 61 are attached to the vehicle interior sidewall 31 a of the guide rail 31. The wire guide member 60 and the wireguide member 61 are secured to the vehicle interior side wall 31 atogether with the bracket 50 d of the drum housing 50 b using bolts 70.

The wire guide member 60 is secured so as to overlap the vehicleinterior side of the bracket 50 d, having a through hole for insertionof the bolt 70 formed on each of the wire guide member 60 and thebracket 50 d. The wire guide member 61 is located in the second sectionS2 of the guide rail 31, being in contact with and secured to thevehicle exterior side surface of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a.The wire guide member 61 has a screw hole facing the vehicle interiorside, and a through hole communicating with the screw hole is formed inthe vehicle interior side wall 31 a. The bolt 70 allows its threadedpart to be inserted into the through hole on each of the wire guidemember 60, the bracket 50 d, and the vehicle interior side wall 31 afrom the vehicle interior side so as to screw the threaded part to thescrew hole of the wire guide member 61. The tip of the threaded part ofthe bolt 70 in the fixed state is located in the screw hole of the wireguide member 61, not being exposed in the second section S2 of the guiderail 31 (refer to FIG. 22 ). That is, the bolt 70 would not interferewith the wire end supports 41 f or 41 g of the shoe base 41, or thewires 52 and 53 passing through the second section S2.

The wire guide member 60 is provided with an arm part 60 a extendingupward from a position where the wire guide member is fastened by thebolt 70. The upper end of the arm part 60 a is secured to the guide rail31 by a bolt different from the bolt 70. The arm part 60 a is providedwith a guide groove 60 b extending in the vertical direction. The guidegroove 60 b is a bottomed groove that opens toward the vehicle exteriorside, arranged to be opposite the vehicle interior side surface of thevehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 at a predeterminedinterval (refer to FIG. 22 ).

As illustrated in FIG. 22 , a guide groove 61 a extending in thevertical direction is formed in the wire guide member 61. The guidegroove 61 a is a bottomed groove that opens toward the vehicle exteriorside. A stopper surface 61 b is formed on the upper end of the wireguide member 61. When the shoe base 41 moves downward in the secondsection S2 of the guide rail 31, the lower end surface of the lower wireend support 41 g comes in contact with the stopper surface 61 b so as toregulate further downward movement of the shoe base 41 (refer to FIG. 24). This contact will determine the downward moving end (bottom deadcenter) of the window glass W supported by the shoe base 41.

The lower bracket 50 e of the drum housing 50 b is secured to the guiderail 31 via a bolt 71 and a nut 72. The bolt 71 allows its threaded partto be inserted from the vehicle exterior side into a through hole formedin the bottom of the second section S2 of the vehicle interior side wall31 a and a through hole formed in the bracket 50 d so as to be screwedto the nut 72. The head of the bolt 71 is located in the second sectionS2. The fastening position by the bolt 71 is below the winding drum 51in the drum housing 50 b. Therefore, the wire end supports 41 f and 41 gof the shoe base 41 and the wires 52 and 53 of the shoe base 41 passingthrough the second section S2 will not reach the position of the head ofthe bolt 71, with no concern of interference with the bolt 71 (refer toFIG. 22 ).

In the vicinity of the upper end of the guide rail 31, a pulley bracket62 is secured to the vehicle interior side surface of the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a by bolting. The guide pulley 54 is rotatablysupported by the pulley bracket 62 via a pulley pin 62 a. The guidepulley 54 is a disc-shaped member including an annular wire guide grooveformed on the outer periphery. The rotation center (axis of the pulleypin 62 a) of the guide pulley 54 faces the inner and outer peripheraldirections in a state where the pulley bracket 62 is secured to theguide rail 31.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 , the guide rail 31 is provided with a throughhole 31 i penetrating through the vehicle interior side wall 31 a, inthe vicinity of the mounting position of the pulley bracket 62. Thethrough hole 31 i is provided in a region of the vehicle interior sidewall 31 a that forms the second section S2 (a region closer to the outerperipheral side in the inner and outer peripheral directions). Thesecond section S2 and the third section S3 communicates with each othervia the through hole 31 i. As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the pulley pin 62a is located in the third section S3, and the guide pulley 54 directsits radial direction orthogonal to the axis of the pulley pin 62 a tothe vehicle interior and exterior directions, so as to be arranged overthe second section S2 and the third section S3 through the through hole31 i.

The guide rail 31 and the connecting member 35 are combined at the doorcorner part 10 d to which the guide pulley 54 is attached. The guidepulley 54 and the pulley bracket 62 are disposed so as to fit in a spacesurrounded by the vehicle interior side wall 35 e, the inner peripheralside wall 35 f, and the outer peripheral side wall 35 g in the secondframe part 35 b of the connecting member 35, not being exposed to theoutside of the upright pillar sash 12.

More specifically, the pulley bracket 62 is long in the verticaldirection (refer to FIGS. 6, 8, and 22 to 24 ), and has an L-shapeincluding: a plate-shaped pulley support 62 b extending in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions; and a pair of upper and lower supportseats 62 c and 62 d extending from the vehicle exterior side end of thepulley support 62 b (refer to FIGS. 17 and 18 ) to the outer peripheralside in a top view (or in a cross-sectional view perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction). The support seat 62 c and the support seat 62 dcome in contact with the vehicle interior side surface of the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31. The support seat 62 c andthe support seat 62 d are vertically separated from each other. Thethrough hole 31 i is formed in the vehicle interior side wall 31 abetween positions where the support seats 62 c and the support seat 62 dcome in contact with each other. The pulley pin 62 a is supported by thepulley support 62 b at a vertical position between the support seat 62 cand the support seat 62 d (refer to FIG. 6 ).

At the cross-sectional position in FIG. 18 where the upper support seat62 c of the pulley bracket 62 is attached to the guide rail 31, thethick part 35 m of the connecting member 35 is arranged on the vehicleinterior side of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a, and the escaperecess 35 n and the screw hole 35 p are formed in the thick part 35 m.The support seat 62 c is located in the escape recess 35 n, sandwichedbetween the vehicle interior side wall 31 a and the thick part 35 m,while a surface facing the vehicle interior side is brought in contactwith the thick part 35 m. Each of the support seat 62 c and the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a is provided with a through hole communicatingwith the screw hole 35 p. The threaded parts of the bolts 73 areinserted into these through holes from the vehicle exterior side to thevehicle interior side, so as to be screwed into the screw holes 35 p.The bolt 73 having its head located in the second section S2 of theguide rail 31 is tightened until the head comes in contact with thevehicle exterior side surface of the vehicle interior side wall 31 awith a predetermined pressure. With this configuration, the support seat62 c is secured being sandwiched between the vehicle interior side wall31 a and the thick part 35 m.

That is, the thick part 35 m provided inside the second frame part 35 b(the third section S3) of the connecting member 35 is defined as asupport seat surface, and the screw hole 35 p is recessed on the supportseat surface, thereby providing a mounting part for the support seat 62c of the pulley bracket 62. The mounting part has a structure in whichthe support seat 62 c is supported by the thick part 35 m having highrigidity, and the bolt 73 is screwed into the screw hole 35 p formed inthe thick part 35 m, leading to excellent binding strength. In addition,since the bolt 73 is directly screwed into the connecting member 35,leading to excellent workability in assembling parts inside the doorcorner part 10 d having a complicated shape.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 23 , the support seat 62 c is secured byusing two bolts 73. The upper bolt 73 is screwed into the screw hole 35p of the connecting member 35 as described above. The threaded part ofthe lower bolt 73 is inserted into the space below the thick part 35 m(internal space of the second frame part 35 b of the connecting member35) through each of the through holes of the support seat 62 c and thevehicle interior side wall 31 a so as to be screwed into the nut 77.

At the fastening position of the pulley bracket 62 by the upper bolt 73(FIG. 18 ), the pulley support 62 b and the support seat 62 c arelocated in the escape recess 35 n. Accordingly, the pulley bracket 62will not interfere with the thick part 35 m, and will not be exposed toaffect the appearance of the upright pillar sash 12.

Moreover, the fastening position of the pulley bracket 62 by the bolts73 is above the guide pulley 54. Therefore, the wire end supports 41 fand 41 g of the shoe base 41 and the wires 52 and 53 of the shoe base 41passing through the second section S2 will not reach the position of thehead of the bolts 73, with no concern of interference with the bolts 73.

At the cross-sectional position in FIG. 17 at which the lower supportseat 62 d of the pulley bracket 62 is attached to the guide rail 31, theconnecting member 35 does not include the thick part 35 m, allowing thethird section S3 to have a wider area in the vehicle interior andexterior directions. A nut 75 separate from the connecting member 35 isarranged in the third section S3, and the support seat 62 d and theguide rail 31 are fastened using a bolt 74 screwed to the nut 75.Through holes communicating with the screw holes of the nut 75 areindividually formed in the support seat 62 d and the vehicle interiorside wall 31 a. The threaded part of the bolt 74 is inserted into eachof these through holes from the vehicle exterior side (the secondsection S2 side) toward the vehicle interior side so as to be screwedinto the screw hole of the nut 75. The bolt 74 is tightened until thehead comes in contact with the vehicle exterior side surface of thevehicle interior side wall 31 a with a predetermined pressure.

At the fastening position of the pulley bracket 62 with the bolt 74, thepulley support 62 b, the support seat 62 d, and the nut 75 are housed inthe third section S3, and thus, the pulley bracket 62 and the nut 75 arenot exposed to the outside. Furthermore, since the bolt 74 is a flathead screw having substantially no head protrusion from the vehicleinterior side wall 31 a toward the vehicle exterior side, each of wireend supports 41 f and 41 g of the shoe base 41 and each of wires 52 and53 passing through the second section S2 will not interfere with thehead of the bolt 74.

As described above, by setting the direction of the axis of the pulleypin 62 a serving as the rotation center in the inner and outerperipheral directions, the guide pulley 54 assembled to the guide rail31 (and the connecting member 35) via the pulley bracket 62 is arrangedover the second section S2 and the third section S3 via the through hole31 i (refer to FIG. 16 ). This makes it possible to guide the first wire52 to the wire end support 41 f of the shoe base 41 located in thesecond section S2 and to the winding drum 51 located below the thirdsection S3 via the guide pulley 54.

The frame part 30 a of the inner sash 30 and the second frame part 35 bof the connecting member 35 in the upright pillar sash 12 have a depthin the vehicle interior and exterior directions greater than the widthin the inner and outer peripheral directions (refer to FIGS. 9 and 14 to17 ). The guide pulley 54 has a flat shape whose diameter is larger thanthe thickness in the axial direction. Accordingly, by arranging theguide pulley 54 with a diametric direction oriented in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions across the second section S2 and thethird section S3 in the second frame part 35 b, it is possible toaccommodate the guide pulley 54 inside the connecting member 35 withhigh space efficiency.

As illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17 , in the portion where the connectingmember 35 is provided, the presence of the thick inner peripheral sidewall 35 f slightly decreases the region closer to the inner periphery ofthe third section S3 (the vehicle interior side region in the firstsection S1). However, the region of the third section S3 closer to theouter periphery (the region on the vehicle interior side of the secondsection S2) maintains an area substantially as large as the portionwhere the inner sash 30 is provided (refer to FIGS. 9, 14, and 15 ).Therefore, by arranging the guide pulley 54 at a position of a regionclose to the outer periphery in the third section S3, it is possible toaccommodate the guide pulley 54 within the second frame part 35 b whileusing the large-diameter guide pulley 54 having its outer peripherypositioned in the vicinity of the vehicle interior side wall 35 e. Inother words, it is possible to use the guide pulley 54 maximum fittablein the second frame part 35 b of the connecting member 35 whileachieving the guide of the first wire 52 over the second section S2 andthe third section S3 across the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of theguide rail 31. The larger the diameter (radius of curvature) of theguide pulley 54, the gentler the curvature of the guided first wire 52to be guided. Accordingly, this configuration is advantageous inreducing the resistance and achieving smoother operation at the time ofdriving the window regulator 40.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 22 , the guide rail 31 is furtherequipped with a wire holding member 63 between a position where themotor unit 50 is mounted and a position where the guide pulley 54(pulley bracket 62) is mounted in the vertical direction (at asubstantially equal distance from the guide pulley 54 and the windingdrum 51). The wire holding member 63 is provided at a general crosssection in which the upright pillar sash 12 is formed by the inner sash30 and the guide rail 31. The wire holding member 63 is housed insidethe third section S3 (the vehicle interior side with respect to thesecond section S2) (refer to FIG. 14 ).

The wire holding member 63 is brought into contact with the vehicleinterior side surface of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of theguide rail 31 and then bolted. A screw hole is formed in the wireholding member 63 toward the vehicle exterior side. A through holecommunicating with the screw hole of the wire holding member 63 isformed in a region of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guiderail 31 where the second section S2 is formed. The threaded part of abolt 76 is inserted into the through hole from the vehicle exterior sideand screwed into the screw hole of the wire holding member 63, wherebythe wire holding member 63 is secured to the guide rail 31 (refer toFIG. 23 ). Four bolts 76 are used at different positions in the verticaldirection. Since the bolt 76 is a flat head screw having substantiallyno head protrusion from the vehicle interior side wall 31 a toward thevehicle exterior side, each of wire end supports 41 f and 41 g of theshoe base 41 and each of wires 52 and 53 passing through the secondsection S2 will not interfere with the head of the bolt 76 (refer toFIG. 14 ).

The wire holding member 63 directs its longitudinal direction in thevertical direction and has a guide groove 63 a extending in the verticaldirection. As illustrated in FIG. 23 , the guide groove 63 a is abottomed groove opening toward the vehicle exterior side, allowing apredetermined gap between the bottom surface of the guide groove 63 aand the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31.

In the window regulator 40, the wires 52 and 53 are routed as follows.On the presumption that the door 10 has a curved outer surface shapeprotruding toward the vehicle exterior side, and correspondingly, theinner sash 30 and the guide rail 31 of the upright pillar sash 12 havecurved shapes in which intermediate portions in the longitudinaldirection (vertical direction) protrude toward the vehicle exterior sidewith respect to the upper and lower ends (refer to FIG. 4 ).

In the winding drum 51, the starting position of winding (pulling) ofthe second wire 53 into the spiral groove (illustrated as a windingstart point P1 in FIG. 22 ) is set to the vehicle exterior side withrespect to the drive shaft 50 c that is the center of rotation. Asillustrated in FIG. 22 , the second wire 53 extends diagonally upwardfrom the winding start point P1, so as to be guided into the secondsection S2 via the through hole 31 h of the guide rail 31. The secondwire 53 introduced to the second section S2 is inserted into the guidegroove 61 a of the wire guide member 61 located slightly above thethrough hole 31 h. The deflection of the second wire 53 in the inner andouter peripheral directions is regulated by both side surfaces of theguide groove 61 a.

The bottom surface of the guide groove 61 a of the wire guide member 61is a curved surface protruding toward the vehicle exterior side, havinga curvature greater than in the vehicle interior side wall 31 a. Guidingthe second wire 53 passing through the through hole 31 h of the guiderail 31 directly along the vehicle interior side wall 31 a without usingthe wire guide member 61 would cause rubbing and damage in the secondwire 53 with the edge portion (particularly the upper edge) of thethrough hole 31 h. By guiding the second wire 53 at a position away fromthe vehicle interior side wall 31 a to the position spaced away on thevehicle exterior side while supporting the second wire 53 on the bottomsurface of the guide groove 61 a, it is possible to prevent rubbing ofthe second wire 53 with the edge portion of the through hole 31 h.

Lowering the position of the bottom surface of the guide groove 61 awith respect to the vehicle interior side wall 31 a (toward the vehicleinterior) makes it possible to decrease the entry angle of the secondwire 53 from the winding drum 51 side with respect to the through hole31 h, enabling the second wire 53 to be guided to the second section S2with a smooth trajectory. On the other hand, the second wire 53 iseasily rubbed against the edge portion of the through hole 31 h. Settingthe position of the bottom surface of the guide groove 61 a with respectto the vehicle interior side wall 31 a higher (toward the vehicleexterior side) would increase the entry angle of the second wire 53 fromthe winding drum 51 side to the through hole 31 h, suppressingoccurrence of contact of the second wire 53 against the edge portion ofthe through hole 31 h. This causes, on the other hand, an increase inthe degree of bending in the second wire 53 in the second section S2,which might lead to an increase in resistance during driving or thelike. In consideration of these conditions, the bottom surface positionof the guide groove 61 a is set so that the second wire 53 will besmoothly guided from the winding start point P1 of the winding drum 51to the second section S2, and that the height can be an optimal heightthat can suppress rubbing of the second wire 53 against the edge portionof the through hole 31 h.

Above the wire guide member 61, the second wire 53 extends along thevehicle exterior side surface of the vehicle interior side wall 31 a ofthe guide rail 31 (the bottom surface of the second section S2) (referto FIGS. 9 and 22 ). Since the vehicle exterior side surface of thevehicle interior side wall 31 a is a smooth surface protrudingly curvedtoward the vehicle exterior side, the second wire 53 is smoothly guidedwithout being caught or the like.

Subsequently, the second wire 53 is inserted into the wire insertionhole 41 i of the wire end support 41 g, so as to be connected to theshoe base 41 via the wire end 57 (refer to FIG. 21 ). The wire insertionhole 41 i of the wire end support 41 g is a hole having a closedcross-sectional shape without a slit that opens to the side. Therefore,it is preferable, at the time of assembly, to first perform insertion ofthe second wire 53 into the wire insertion hole 41 i (insertion of theend opposite to the wire end 57) and then perform winding of the secondwire 53 onto the winding drum 51 and connection.

In the winding drum 51, the starting position of winding (pulling) ofthe first wire 52 into the spiral groove (illustrated as a winding startpoint P2 in FIG. 22 ) is set to the vehicle interior side with respectto the drive shaft 50 c that is the center of rotation. As illustratedin FIG. 22 , the first wire 52 extends upward from the winding startpoint P2. The first wire 52 arranged upward from the winding drum 51 isinserted into the guide groove 60 b of the wire guide member 60. Thedeflection of the first wire 52 in the inner and outer peripheraldirections is regulated by both side surfaces of the guide groove 60 b.

The bottom surface of the guide groove 60 b of the wire guide member 60is a curved surface protruding toward the vehicle exterior side, havinga curvature greater than in the vehicle interior side wall 31 a. Whennot held by the wire guide member 60, the trajectory of the first wire52 connects the winding drum 51 with the guide pulley 54 at the shortestdistance on the recess side (on the vehicle interior side) of the guiderail 31 having a shape protruding toward the vehicle exterior side. Thisvirtual wire trajectory is illustrated as a wire short-circuittrajectory 52 x in FIG. 22 . The bottom surface of the guide groove 60 bsupports the first wire 52 in a state where the first wire 52 is pushedto the vehicle exterior side with respect to the wire short-circuittrajectory 52 x.

As illustrated in FIG. 22 , the first wire 52 is further supported bythe wire holding member 63 at an intermediate position between thewinding drum 51 and the guide pulley 54 in the vertical direction. Thedeflection of the first wire 52 in the inner and outer peripheraldirections is regulated by both side surfaces of the guide groove 63 aof the wire holding member 63.

The bottom surface of the guide groove 63 a of the wire holding member63 is a curved surface protruding toward the vehicle exterior side,having a curvature greater than in the vehicle interior side wall 31 a.The bottom surface of the guide groove 63 a is less distant from thevehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 than the bottomsurface of the guide groove 60 b of the wire guide member 60 (refer toFIG. 22 ), so as to push the first wire 52 held by the bottom surface ofthe guide groove 60 b further toward the vehicle exterior side.

The first wire 52 whose trajectory has been changed from the wireshort-circuit trajectory 52 x by the wire guide member 60 and the wireholding member 63 is routed in the vertical direction while maintainingan appropriate distance from the vehicle interior side surface of thevehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 curved in a recess(maintaining the position that fits in the third section S3).

Inside the door panel 10 a in which the guide rail 31 is exposed withoutbeing covered with the inner sash 30, the first wire 52 extends in anexposed state in a vertical direction while maintaining a predetermineddistance with the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31.

In the general cross section of the upright pillar sash 12 above thebelt line reinforcement 16, the first wire 52 passes through the thirdsection S3 surrounded by the frame part 30 a of the inner sash 30 and bythe vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 (refer to FIG.9 ). The wire holding member 63, housed in the third section S3 at thegeneral cross section, reliably guides the first wire 52 (refer to FIG.14 ). In the door corner part 10 d where the connecting member 35 isprovided instead of the frame part 30 a of the inner sash 30, the firstwire 52 continues to pass through the third section S3 surrounded by thesecond frame part 35 b and by the vehicle interior side wall 31 a (referto FIG. 17 ).

Then, the first wire 52 that has reached near the upper end of the guiderail 31 is looped around a wire guide groove on the outer periphery ofthe guide pulley 54. As described above, the guide pulley 54 is providedat a position straddling the second section S2 and the third section S3via the through hole 31 i of the guide rail 31. Therefore, the firstwire 52 that extends upward on the third section S3 side and that hasbeen guided to the guide pulley 54 reverses the extending directionalong the wire guide groove of the guide pulley 54 so as to go downwardin the second section S2. In other words, one end and the other end ofthe winding region of the first wire 52 with respect to the wire guidegroove of the guide pulley 54 (a winding start point Q1 and a windingstart point Q2 illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 23 ) are arranged in thesecond section S2 and the third section S3 respectively in asubstantially symmetrical positional relationship with respect to thepulley pin 62 a.

The first wire 52 extending downward from the winding start point Q2 ofthe guide pulley 54 is inserted into the wire insertion hole 41 h of thewire end support 41 f in the second section S2, so as to be connected tothe shoe base 41 via the wire end 55 (refer to FIG. 21 ). The wireinsertion hole 41 h of the wire end support 41 f is a hole having aclosed cross-sectional shape without a slit that opens to the side.Therefore, it is preferable, at the time of assembly, to first performinsertion of the first wire 52 into the wire insertion hole 41 h(insertion of the end opposite to the wire end 55) and then performwinding of the first wire 52 onto the guide pulley 54 and the windingdrum 51 and connection.

When the first wire 52 and the second wire 53 are routed as describedabove, the compression spring 56 and the compression spring 58 press thewire end 55 and the wire end 57 in mutual approaching directions,producing a predetermined tension applied to the wire 52 and 53,respectively. Thereby, the slider 45 connected to the wires 52 and 53 isstabilized, leading to high accuracy holding and elevating/lowering ofthe window glass W whose position is controlled via the slider 45.

As illustrated in FIG. 21 , the shoe base 41 houses 56 and 57 andcompression springs 56 and 58 between the wire end support 41 f and thewire end support 41 g. Only the opposite end portions of the two wireend supports 41 f and 41 g (the surfaces with which the end surfaces ofthe wire end 55 and the wire end 57 come in contact) constitute thehousing portion, with no side walls surrounding the side surfaces of thewire end 55 or wire end 57. This makes it possible to establish a wireconnection structure with a very compact and simple configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 21 , each of the wire end supports 41 f and 41 ghas a length in the vertical direction greater than the width of the endsurface with which the wire ends 55 and 57 come in contact. That is, thesupport length for each of the wires 52 and 53 by the wire insertionholes 41 h and 41 h has been increased. By maintaining the linearity ofeach of the wires 52 and 53 by the wire insertion holes 41 h and 41 hhaving a long support length, it is possible to obtain an effect ofsuppressing the lateral deflection of the wire ends 55 and 57 locatedimmediately adjacent to the wires.

In a state where the wire end supports 41 f and 41 g are inserted intothe second section S2 of the guide rail 31, the inner surfaces (thevehicle interior side wall 31 a, the outer peripheral side wall 31 c,the cover wall 31 e, and the partition wall 31 f) of the second sectionS2 surrounds the sides of the wire ends 55 and 57 to suppressdeflection. As illustrated in FIG. 17 , there is a clearance of apredetermined size between the inner surface of the second section S2and the wire end 55 (or the wire end 57), and thus the positions of thewire ends 55 and 57 are not strictly determined. Still, it is possibleto prevent excessive displacement of the wire ends 55 and 57 such asdeviation from the extended upper positions of the wire end supports 41f and 41 g by the presence of the inner surface of the second sectionS2.

As described above, the wire connection structure in the shoe base 41can be realized with a minimum configuration (driving force transmittingportion) that receives the traction force by the contact of the endsurfaces of the wire ends 55 and 57 in the extending direction of thewires 52 and 53. In particular, the window regulator 40 of the presentembodiment houses most of the elevating/lowering mechanism excluding themotor unit 50 in the internal space of the vertically elongated uprightpillar sash 12. For this reason, it is extremely effective in terms ofspace efficiency to complete the wire connection structure in theelongated space between the opposing surfaces of the wire end supports41 f and 41 g that are vertically separated from each other.Specifically, the cross-sectional area of the second section S2 thathouses the wire end supports 41 f and 41 g can be downsized. This makesit possible to perform parallel arrangement of the first section S1 intowhich the shoes 43 and 44 are inserted and the second section S2 throughwhich the wires 52 and 53 are inserted without increasing the width ofthe frame part 30 a in the inner and outer peripheral directions. Inaddition, since the second section S2 is also compact in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions, it is also possible to performparallel arrangement of the second section S2 and the third section S3through which the wires 52 and 53 are inserted within a dimension with alimited depth ranging from the window glass W to the vehicle interiorside wall 30 d of the frame part 30 a (vehicle interior side wall 35 eof the second frame part 35 b).

When assembling the window regulator 40, it is preferable from theviewpoint of workability that the work is performed in a state where thewires 52 and 53 are loosened and the final tension is applied to thewires 52 and 53 as late as possible. In the manufacture of the windowregulator 40 of the present embodiment, the wires 52 and 53 aretensioned by attaching the wire holding member 63 after general partsassembling and wire arrangement are performed. As described above, thewire holding member 63 supports the first wire 52 at a position on thevehicle exterior side (inside the recess) of the wire short-circuittrajectory 52 x connecting the winding drum 51 and the guide pulley 54at the shortest distance, on the recessed side (vehicle interior side)of the curved guide rail 31. That is, the tension of the first wire 52is increased by changing the wiring trajectory of the first wire 52toward the vehicle exterior side and increasing the actual trajectory ofthe first wire 52 to be longer than the wire short-circuit trajectory 52x.

On the recessed side (on the vehicle interior side) of the guide rail31, the wire guide member 60 also supports the first wire 52 in additionto the wire holding member 63. For this reason, even when the wireholding member 63 is not attached, a certain level of tension is appliedto each of the wires 52 and 53 at a stage where the wire guide member 60has been attached. Excessively loose states of the wires 52 and 53 wouldlead to dislocation of the wires from the guide pulley 54 or the like,causing deterioration in the assemblability. However, with the presenceof the wire guide member 60, it is possible to proceed with the work ina state where the wires 52 and 53 are appropriately stabilized. Inaddition, it is only necessary to press a small amount of the first wire52 preliminarily supported by the wire guide member 60 in assembling thewire holding member 63 in the final stage, leading to excellentassembling property of the wire holding member 63.

The wire holding member 63 is housed in the third section S3 in a statewhere the upright pillar sash 12 is completed (refer to FIG. 14 ).Therefore, the assembly of the components of the window regulator 40including the wire holding member 63 is to be completed beforeassembling the guide rail 31 with the inner sash 30 and the connectingmember 35. FIG. 19 illustrates a regulator assembly 40A in this state.The regulator assembly 40A has already been completed as a functionalpart for moving (elevating/lowering) the window glass W along the guiderail 31. Therefore, it is possible to perform operation check,inspection, shipment (sales), maintenance, or the like in the state ofthe regulator assembly 40A.

Note that the connecting member 35 is not attached in the regulatorassembly 40A illustrated in FIG. 19 . Therefore, the upper bolt 73(refer to FIGS. 18 and 23 ) of the pair of bolts 73 for fastening thesupport seat 62 c of the pulley bracket 62 is not secured to the screwhole 35 p of the connecting member 35. However, the lower bolt 73 isscrewed into the nut 77 and thus, the support seat 62 c is stablysecured to the guide rail 31.

FIGS. 20, 23, and 24 illustrate a state where the window glass W iselevated and lowered by the window regulator 40 having the aboveconfiguration. The solid line in FIG. 20 illustrates the fully closedposition (top dead center) where the window glass W rises most, whilethe two-dot chain line in FIG. 20 illustrates the fully open position(bottom dead center) where the window glass W descends most. FIG. 23illustrates a state of the window regulator 40 when the window glass Wis fully open, while FIG. 24 illustrates a state of the window regulator40 when the window glass W is fully open.

As illustrated in FIG. 23 , the shoe 43 of the upper slider 45 reachesnear the upper end of the guide rail 31 when the window glass W is inthe fully closed position. Although the guide pulley 54 is provided nearthe upper end of the guide rail 31, the first section S1 in which theshoe 43 is inserted and the second section S2 in which the guide pulley54 is disposed are separately arranged in parallel in the inner andouter peripheral directions, and thus, the shoe 43 and the guide pulley54 will not interfere with each other.

At the fully closed position of the window glass W, as illustrated inFIG. 23 , the upper wire end support 41 f provided on the slider 45 islocated immediately below the guide pulley 54 (winding start point Q1).In the slider 45, the wire end support 41 f is provided so as to beshifted downward with respect to the shoe 43 (shoe support 41 c) (referto FIG. 21 ). Therefore, it is possible to position the wire end support41 f directly below the guide pulley 54 in a state where the shoe 43 hasreached a position in parallel with the guide pulley 54 as describedabove. That is, individual elements of the drive system can be housedwith high space efficiency in the vicinity of the upper end of the guiderail 31 without impairing the smooth routing of the first wire 52 aroundthe guide pulley 54.

Furthermore, the upper part of the upper slider 45 is located near theupper end of the upright pillar sash 12 (door corner part 10 d), whilethe lower part of the lower slider 46 is located near the belt linereinforcement 16 (refer to FIG. 1 ), so as to support the window glass Wover substantially the entire area of the upright pillar sash 12 in thevertical direction. This makes it possible to stably support the windowglass W with extremely high accuracy, leading to improvement of the fallresistance of the window glass W in the vehicle front-rear directionsand the vehicle interior and exterior directions.

As illustrated in FIG. 24 , at the fully open position of the windowglass W, the lower end surface of the lower wire end support 41 g of theshoe base 41 constituting the slider 45 comes in contact with thestopper surface 61 b of the wire guide member 61 so as to regulatefurther lowering of the window glass W. That is, the wire guide member61 also functions as a mechanical stopper that determines the downwardmoving end of the window regulator 40.

Even in the fully open position, the window glass W is supported in awide range in the vertical direction within the door panel 10 a withrespect to the guide rail 31, leading to achievement of high supportaccuracy and stability of the window glass W similar to the case of thefully closed position described above.

As described above, in the door 10 of the present embodiment, of thewindow regulator 40, the components of the elevating/lowering mechanismfor transmitting the driving force of the motor M, which is the drivesource, to the window glass W are incorporated in the upright pillarsash 12. This configuration improves the space efficiency and layoutflexibility around the door panel 10 a as compared with the existingconfiguration in which the window regulator is arranged in the internalspace of the door panel 10 a below the window opening 10 c. For example,the degree of freedom in door trim shape setting on the door innersurface side will be enhanced. In addition, the shape of the door innersurface closer to the vehicle exterior side makes it possible to improvethe ease of stride when getting on and off the vehicle. Furthermore,increasing the internal space of the door panel 10 a leads toacquisition of a space for arranging functional components other thanthe window regulator or improvement of the assemblability of componentsinto the door panel 10 a.

FIGS. 26 and 27 illustrate a window regulator 140 according to a secondembodiment. While the window regulator 40 of the previous embodimentincludes a wire type transmission mechanism, the window regulator 140includes a rack and pinion type transmission mechanism. Otherconfigurations are similar to the previous embodiment, and the commonparts are denoted by the same reference numerals as in the previousembodiment, and description thereof is omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 26 , a motor unit 150 constituting the windowregulator 140 is attached to the guide rail 31 at substantially the sameposition as the motor unit 50 of the previous embodiment (that is,inside the door panel 10 a). The motor unit 150 includes a drive unit150 a having a motor M, and a pinion support member 150 b that rotatablysupports a pinion 90. The pinion 90 is connected to a drive shaft 150 c,and rotational driving force is transmitted from the drive unit 150 avia the drive shaft 150 c. The pinion support member 150 b is fastenedand secured by bringing upper and lower brackets 150 d and 150 e intocontact with the vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31from the vehicle interior side. The pinion 90 supported in this manneris driven to rotate about the drive shaft 150 c extending in the innerand outer peripheral directions.

The vehicle interior side wall 31 a of the guide rail 31 is providedwith a through hole 31 j penetrating vehicle interior and exteriordirections, formed between positions where the upper and lower brackets150 d and 150 e of the pinion support member 150 b are to be secured.The through hole 31 j is formed at a position where the second sectionS2 and the third section S3 (refer to FIG. 27 ) in the upright pillarsash 12 communicate with each other. The pinion 90 partially enters thesecond section S2 through the through hole 31 j. FIG. 27 illustrates thegeneral cross-sectional position of the upright pillar sash 12 above theposition of the pinion 90, in which the pinion 90 is virtuallyrepresented by a one-dot chain line.

A rack 91 is arranged in the second section S2 in the upright pillarsash 12 (guide rail 31). The rack 91 is a long member extending in thelongitudinal direction of the guide rail 31, including teeth 91 a facingthe vehicle interior side formed continuously in the longitudinaldirection. The second section S2 includes a rack guide 92 for enablingstable movement of the rack 91 in the vertical direction (refer to FIG.27 ).

The shoe base 41 of the slider 45 is provided with a rack connectionpart 41 j protruding from the connection part 41 b to the outerperipheral side, near the center in the longitudinal direction (belowthe shoe support 41 c). The rack connection part 41 j extends into thesecond section S2 and is secured to a vehicle exterior side surface ofthe rack 91 (a surface on which the teeth 91 a are not formed). The partsecured to the rack connection part 41 j is a part near the upper end ofthe rack 91.

The rack 91 disposed in the second section S2 extends to the positionwhere the through hole 31 j is formed, and the pinion 90 that enters thesecond section S2 via the through hole 31 j meshes with the teeth 91 aof the rack 91. When the pinion 90 rotates in the normal or reversedirection by the driving force of the motor M, the meshing rack 91 movesin the vertical direction. The movement of the rack 91 is transmitted tothe slider 45 so as to raise or lower the window glass W. The rack 91has a length that meshes with the pinion 90 in the entire movable rangefrom the fully closed position to the fully open position of the windowglass W (refer to FIG. 20 ).

Similar to the window regulator 40 of the previous embodiment, thewindow regulator 140 incorporates, into the upright pillar sash 12,components of an elevating/lowering mechanism for transmitting thedriving force of the motor M being a drive source to the window glass W.In particular, the transmitting portion for transmitting the drivingforce to the slider 45 includes merely the pinion 90 and the rack 91,leading to the small number of components, which is advantageous interms of simplicity of the configuration, facilitated production, or thelike.

As described above, in the door 10 of the above embodiment, the guiderail 31 is first incorporated into the upright pillar sash 12, and thenthe shoe 43 of the slider 45 is positioned within the first section S1of the guide rail 31, so as to determine the vehicle interior andexterior directions and the inner and outer peripheral directions(intersecting direction that intersects the vehicle interior andexterior directions) of the window glass W at the fully closed position(uppermost position). Unlike elastic holding and deflection suppressionusing a glass run in the existing door sash, this position regulation isstrict positioning in which the solid and rigid sliding base 43 aconstituting the shoe 43 is brought into contact with the wall of themetal guide rail 31 and thus enables acquisition of highly strictposition accuracy and stability of the window glass W. Note that theguide rail 31 is not limited to a metal product and may be formed ofanother material such as a synthetic resin. Moreover, since the positionof the window glass W is directly determined with reference to the wallin the upright pillar sash 12, it is possible to obtain extremely highrelative position accuracy between the window glass W and the door sash10 b and facilitates accuracy control as well.

The door 10 of the above-described embodiment is designed to set anoutermost surface (the vehicle exterior side surface 32 a of the garnish32) of the vehicle interior side of the upright pillar sash 12 to besubstantially flush with the vehicle exterior side surface W1 of thewindow glass W after the window glass W has been positioned on thevehicle exterior side of the frame part 30 a and the guide rail 31 ofthe upright pillar sash 12 (refer to FIG. 9 ). Therefore, with thepresence of displacement between the mutual positions of the uprightpillar sash 12 and the window glass W (displacement in the vehicleinterior and exterior directions in particular), this displacement wouldappear as a displacement on the outer surface of the door, resulting ina poor appearance or a wind noise. Such problems can be prevented bycontrolling the position of the window glass W by using the positionregulating means provided in the upright pillar sash 12.

Moreover, in the above embodiment, the position of the slider 45 withrespect to the shoe 43 by the guide rail 31 is regulated at a positionnear the upper end of the upright pillar sash 12 that is, at the doorcorner part 10 d, in the fully closed position of the window glass W. Inthe fully closed position, the upper edge of the window glass W entersthe glass run storage 22 of the upper sash 11, with substantially theentire rear edge of the window glass W running along the upright pillarsash 12. That is, the length of the peripheral edge of the window glassW along the door sash 10 b is maximized at the fully closed position.Furthermore, reliable waterproofness between the window glass W and thedoor sash 10 b and high stability of the window glass W are requiredparticularly in the fully closed position. Therefore, it is particularlyadvantageous to provide a position regulating means for the window glassW at the door corner part 10 d where the upper sash 11 and the uprightpillar sash 12 meet in ensuring the accuracy and waterproof performanceof the window glass W over the entire door sash 10 b.

In the door 10 of the above embodiment, the guide rail 31 extends notonly at the door corner part 10 d but also over the entire uprightpillar sash 12 and inside the door panel 10 a. By performinghigh-accuracy positioning of the window glass W with reference to thewall of the guide rail 31 over the entire movable range from the fullyclosed position to the fully open position of the window glass W, it ispossible to improve the sliding stability of the window glass W when itis in the elevating/lowering operation. That is, it is possible tosuppress backlash or the like of the window glass W with respect to theupright pillar sash 12 over the entire movable range of the window glassW.

The door 10 of the above embodiment is a type of door (sash door) inwhich the frame-shaped door sash 10 b formed of a member different fromthe door panel 10 a is provided above the door panel 10 a. However, thepresent invention is applicable to other doors. For example, the presentinvention is also applicable to a type of door in which a door panel anda door sash are integrally formed (an inner full door in which an innerpanel and a door sash are integrally formed, a panel door firstintegrally forming each of an inner panel and an outer panel with eachof an inner side and an outer side of a door sash and then combiningeach of portions), or a type of door (kind of hard top door) having onlya portion corresponding to the upright pillar sash 12 without having aportion corresponding to the upper sash 11. By applying the presentinvention to these doors, it is possible to provide the sash partextending in the elevating/lowering directions of the window glass witha position regulating means that performs positioning in each ofdirections at the fully closed position of the window glass W. That is,regardless of whether it is integral with or separate from the doorpanel, or whether it is a form that surrounds the window glass allaround, any vehicle door that includes a sash part protruding upwardwith respect to the door panel would be applicable.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, since the upright pillarsash 12 is longer in the elevating/lowering directions than the frontsash 13, it is preferable that the glass position regulating means thatperforms positioning in each of directions at the fully closed positionof the window glass W is provided on the upright pillar sash 12 side.However, in the case of a vehicle door having a sufficient length on thefront sash, the glass position regulating means may be provided on thefront sash side. Alternatively, in the case of a vehicle door having adivision bar that separates a window opening that is opened and closedby the window glass elevated or lowered from a fixed window frame thatis closed by a fixed window, it is possible to provide a glass positionregulating means in the division bar. That is, in these cases, the frontsash and the division bar correspond to the sash part of the presentinvention.

In the above embodiment, all the components of the window regulators 40or 140 are assembled to the guide rail 31 incorporated in the uprightpillar sash 12 and the connecting member 35 constituting the door cornerpart 10 d. In contrast, a part other than the parts (in the aboveembodiment, the guide rail 31 and the sliders 45 and 46) related topositioning of the window glass W can be arranged in another position ofthe door 10. For example, a motor that is a drive source in theelevating/lowering directions, a wire mechanism or a rack and pinionmechanism that transmits a driving force to the window glass W can alsobe assembled to the door panel 10 a.

In the above-described embodiment, the first elastic contact parts 43 band 44 b and the second elastic contact parts 43 c and 44 c provided onthe shoes 43 and 44 that slide with respect to the guide rail 31 areboth elongated ring-shaped bodies. Alternatively, the elastic contactparts provided on the shoes 43 and 44 may be changed to a cantilevershape or the like. The elastic contact part is biased so as to alwayscome in contact with the inner wall surface of the guide rail 31 tosuppress backlash of the shoes 43 and 44. Therefore, the elastic contactpart having a cantilever shape arranged only in the biasing directionwould be able to obtain necessary functions.

In the door sash 10 b of the above-described embodiment, the upper sash11 and the upright pillar sash 12 are connected by the connecting member35 at the door corner part 10 d. However, the present invention is alsoapplicable to the door sash in which the upper sash and the uprightpillar sash are directly joined at the door corner part.

The above embodiment is applied to the side door attached to the side ofthe right front seat of the vehicle, but can be applied to other doors.

Furthermore, although individual embodiments of the present inventionhave been described, it is allowable, as another embodiment of thepresent invention, to combine the above-described embodiments andmodifications in whole or in part.

The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the aboveembodiments and modifications, and may be changed, replaced, or modifiedin various manners without departing from the spirit of the technicalidea of the present invention. Furthermore, the technical idea of thepresent invention may be implemented in another practical possible wayby another advanced or derived technology. Therefore, the claims coverall embodiments that can be included in the scope of the technical ideaof the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a vehicledoor window glass support structure which is excellent in the positionaccuracy of a window glass with respect to a sash part, so as to beuseful especially for the vehicle door aiming at the improvement ofappearance quality.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10 Door-   10 a Door panel-   10 b Door sash-   10 c Window opening-   10 d Door corner part-   11 Upper sash-   12 Upright pillar sash (sash part)-   13 Front sash-   20 Sash body-   20 a Frame part-   21 Sash molding-   22 Glass run storage-   23 Glass run-   24 weather-strip holder-   30 Inner Sash-   30 a Frame part-   30 b Design part-   30 c Step part-   30 d Vehicle interior side wall-   30 e Inner peripheral side wall-   30 f Outer peripheral side wall-   30 g Outer peripheral extension-   30 h Vehicle exterior extension-   30 i Side contact surface-   31 Guide rail (glass position regulating means)-   31 a Vehicle interior side wall (glass position regulating means)-   31 b Inner peripheral side wall (glass position regulating means)-   31 c Outer peripheral side wall-   31 c 1 Positioning part-   31 d Bent part-   31 e Cover wall-   31 f Partition wall (glass position regulating means)-   31 g Holding wall (glass position regulating means)-   31 h Through hole-   31 i Through hole-   31 j Through hole-   32 Garnish-   32 a Vehicle exterior side surface-   32 b Vehicle interior side surface-   32 c Inner peripheral edge-   32 c 1 Positioning part-   32 d Outer peripheral edge-   32 e Inner peripheral side surface-   32 f Outer peripheral side surface-   32 g End surface-   33 Elastic cover-   33 a Hollow part-   33 b Lip part-   33 c Vehicle exterior side wall-   33 d Inner peripheral side wall-   33 e Outer peripheral side wall-   33 f Outer peripheral protruding wall-   33 g Vehicle interior side wall-   33 h Inner peripheral side base wall-   33 i Outer peripheral side base wall-   33 j Vehicle interior side surface-   33 k Vehicle exterior side surface-   35 Connecting member-   35 a First frame part-   35 b Second frame part-   35 c Contact end surface-   35 d Insertion projection-   35 e Vehicle interior side wall-   35 f Inner peripheral side wall-   35 g Outer peripheral side wall-   35 h Bent part-   35 i Plate part-   35 j Insertion projection-   35 k Step part-   35 m Thick part-   35 n Escape recess-   35 p Screw hole-   36 Inner cover-   40 Window regulator-   40A Regulator assembly-   41 Shoe base-   41 a Glass support (glass securing part)-   41 b Connection part-   41 c Shoe support-   41 d Load reduction part-   41 e Load reduction part-   41 e 1 Tapered surface-   41 e 2 Tapered surface-   41 f Wire end support-   41 g Wire end support-   41 h Wire insertion hole-   41 i Wire insertion hole-   41 j Rack connection part-   42 Shoe base-   42 a Glass support (glass securing part)-   42 b Connection part-   42 c Shoe support-   42 e Load reduction part-   43 Shoe (sliding part)-   43 a Sliding base-   43 b First elastic contact part-   43 c Second elastic contact part-   44 Shoe (sliding part)-   44 a Sliding base-   44 b First elastic contact part-   44 c Second elastic contact part-   45 Slider-   46 Slider-   50 Motor unit-   50 a Drive unit-   50 b Drum housing-   50 c Drive shaft-   51 Winding drum-   52 First wire-   52 x Wire short-circuit trajectory-   53 Second wire-   54 Guide pulley-   55 Wire end-   56 Compression spring-   57 Wire end-   58 Compression spring-   60 Wire guide member-   60 a Arm part-   60 b Guide groove-   61 Wire guide member-   61 a Guide groove-   61 b Stopper surface-   62 Pulley bracket-   62 a Pulley pin-   62 b Pulley support-   62 c Support seat-   62 d Support seat-   63 Wire holding member-   63 a Guide groove-   73 Bolt-   80 Upper die-   81 Lower die-   90 Pinion-   91 Rack-   92 Rack guide-   140 Window regulator-   150 Motor unit-   150 a Drive unit-   150 b Pinion support member-   150 c Drive shaft-   L1 Parting line-   M Motor-   S1 First section (guide section)-   S2 Second section-   S3 Third section-   U1 Holding recess-   U2 Gap-   W Window glass-   W1 Vehicle exterior side surface-   W2 Vehicle interior side surface-   W3 Edge surface

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicle door window glass supportstructure comprising: a sash part protruding upward with respect to adoor panel; and window glass that is elevated or lowered along the sashpart, wherein the sash part includes a glass position regulating meansincluding a guide rail extending in a longitudinal direction of the sashpart and a slider that is secured to the window glass and slidablyinserted into the guide rail, wherein the guide rail and the sliderdetermine the position of the window glass in both vehicle interior andexterior directions and an intersecting direction that intersects thevehicle interior and exterior directions at least at a position wherethe window glass is elevated most, wherein the vehicle door window glasssupport structure includes a transmission mechanism connected to theslider that transmits a driving force from a drive source to the windowglass, wherein the guide rail includes a guide section that is providedin the sash part and is surrounded by a first pair of walls arrangedopposite the vehicle interior and exterior directions and a second pairof walls arranged opposite the intersecting direction so as to becontinuous to the longitudinal direction of the sash part, wherein theposition of the window glass is determined by the slider and the wallsof the guide section, wherein the guide rail includes a second sectionthat is provided adjacent to the guide section in the intersectingdirection that intersects the vehicle interior and exterior directions,and the transmission mechanism is provided in the second section.
 2. Thevehicle door window glass support structure according to claim 1,wherein the guide rail is open toward the vehicle exterior side, and thewindow glass is positioned on the vehicle exterior side of the guiderail, and the slider includes: a glass securing part secured to avehicle interior side surface of the window glass arranged opposite anopen portion of the guide rail; and a sliding part located at vehicleinterior side with respect to the glass securing part so as to beslidably disposed in the guide section.
 3. The vehicle door window glasssupport structure according to claim 2, wherein the sliding partincludes: a sliding base having a solid structure that brings an outersurface into contact with the walls forming the guide section; a firstelastic contact part that is provided at a position in the longitudinaldirection of the sash part with respect to the sliding base, and isconfigured to elastically and deformably contact at least one of thefirst pair of walls; and a second elastic contact part that is providedat another position, different from the position of the first elasticcontact part, in the longitudinal direction of the sash part withrespect to the sliding base, and is configured to elastically anddeformably contact at least one of the second pair of walls.
 4. Thevehicle door window glass support structure according to claim 1,wherein a door sash surrounding a window opening opened and closed bythe window glass is provided above the door panel, and the sash part isan upright pillar sash extending downward from an end of an upper sashlocated at an upper edge of the door sash, and the intersectingdirection is inner and outer peripheral directions of the door sash thatdefines the window opening as an inner peripheral side.